By now, medical fraternity in India is more or less sure that for the massive rise of Covid cases in the still-unabated 2nd wave, the B.1.617.2 variant is primarily responsible. Concern whether the currently used vaccines will be effective against this powerful strain also came up. However, a study made by the UK government, results of which appeared in the press on Saturday has indicated that the Covishield version now being widely used in India is much effective against this deadly strain, however, efficacy is optimum only when both doses are taken. While it’s a news of hope and optimism, the flip side of the story is that as of now only 3% of the country’s population have been vaccinated with dual shots- a yet another reminder that Covid vaccination needs to be accelerated at any cost. The necessity holds true for the entire country including Arunachal Pradesh since B.1.617.2 is the dominant variant responsible for the steep rise of Covid graph(s).

The data making this much-needed revelation has arrived from the UK Department of Health and Social Care’s executive agency Public Health England (PHE). It has been proved that two doses of Covishield provide 81 % protection against B.1.617.2 variant and 87 % protection against B.1.1.7. If this is one part of the study, the other crucial aspect shows how less the efficacy is if just one shot is taken- a single dose of Covishield will allow only 33 % protection against B.1.617.2 and for B.1.1.7 it’s 51%. However, India’s Covid vaccination drive besides making a slow start has been riddled with glitches due to the yawning demand-supply gap. Latest figures show that since January 16 when the inoculation programme kicked off, only 43.05 million people which is around 3 % of the total population have been vaccinated with both doses and 151.90 million had received only the first shot. Various estimates that are coming suggest that with the current pace it will take years to vaccinate fully (with both doses) just 70 % of the country’s 1.3+ billion population. The pressing issue is extreme shortage in supply of stocks and actually it’s a kind of rationing that’s going on when it comes to replenishing the states’ needs. However, the Centre through its latest Covid vaccination roadmap has assured that by December end supply level will touch 2+ billion doses, adequate enough to inoculate the entire adult population.

If there’s no herd immunity, there’s no respite from Covid and waves after waves will continue coming and lockdowns can never be a solution. Scientists made the impossible possible by bringing out the vaccines in less than a year-but for citizens across the country the wait hardly ends.