Empty oxygen tankers are loaded on a train wagon at the Kalamboli goods yard in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra on April 19, 2021 before they are transported to collect liquid medical oxygen from other states. (Image: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

The Centre has dispatched 6,738 oxygen concentrators, 3,856 oxygen cylinders, 16 oxygen generation plants, 4,668 ventilators, BiPAP and CPAP machines, and over 3 lakh Remdesivir vials received as part of global aid to states and union territories (UTs) so far.

The deliveries will augment and supplement states’ health infrastructure, as per a statement from the Union Health Ministry on May 10.

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“The Centre is ensuring that global aid is being expeditiously delivered to states and UTs through fast custom clearances by air and road,” it added.

The cumulative number of vaccine doses administered has crossed the 17 crore mark. The total 170,176,603 (17.01 crore) doses were administered through 2,470,799 (24.70 lakh) sessions till 7 am on May 10.

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.

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COVID-19 Second Wave | Oxygen cylinders, concentrators and generation plants got as aid expedited to states, says Centre

Over 3 lakh Remdesivir vials, also received as part of the global aid, has been dispatched to states and UTs in their fight against COVID-19

Empty oxygen tankers are loaded on a train wagon at the Kalamboli goods yard in Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra on April 19, 2021 before they are transported to collect liquid medical oxygen from other states. (Image: AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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