COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Karnataka to use 70% Covishield stock for second dose of people above 45 years

The remaining 30 percent of Covishield stock will be used to vaccinate the 45 years and above age group seeking their first dose of vaccine, said the minister

Moneycontrol News

May 08, 2021 / 02:09 PM IST

Karnataka reported its single largest daily spike in COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic with 592 fatalities today. (Representative image)

The Karnataka government will utilise 70 percent of the available stock of Covishield to vaccinate people above 45 years of age who are due for the second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, Health Minister Sudhakar K said on May 8.

The remaining 30 percent will be used to vaccinate the 45 years and above age group seeking their first dose of vaccine, he said on Twitter.

In the case of Covaxin, the vaccine will be administered only to those who are above 45 years of age and are due for the second dose after 6 weeks of the first dose, the Minister said.

Vaccine Update

70% of the available stock of Covishield will be utilised to vaccinate 45+ who are due for 2nd dose and rest 30% will be used to vaccinate 45+ seeking 1st dose.
Covaxin will be administered only to 45+ who are due for 2nd dose after 6 weeks of 1st dose.
— Dr Sudhakar K (@mla_sudhakar) May 8, 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show