Bhubaneswar: State government’s health advisor K Srinath Reddy, Thursday, said vaccine for Covid-19 may come up by October this year.
Joining from Gurugram over video-conference, Reddy interacted with Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik, the ministers and top officers of the state government on the learning outcomes from Covid till now and how to win the war against the virus.
Reddy said numerous researches are going on around the world including India to develop vaccines for Covid-19. He hoped that if everything goes right, a vaccine might be available by September-October.
He made it quite clear that social distancing must continue to be the focus of all our efforts as there is currently no effective medicine or vaccine available for the disease. Senior citizens and persons with co-morbidity need grater care, he stated.
Reddy said that the origin of the novel coronavirus is from bats and pangolin. It infects humans mostly by droplets from cough and sneezing of infected persons, and enters other persons through mouth, nose and eyes. It is, therefore, essential to keep focus on social distancing, frequent hand washing, and using mask to keep the virus at bay, he suggested.
Highlighting data from various countries, Reddy said that the virus is not only creating pneumonia, it is also causing fatal thrombosis. The infection is more widespread in the body as it is also damaging heart, brain and the intestine.
It is affecting persons from all age groups. Especially the youth are more susceptible to the infection due to larger social contact. But, their morbidity is lower. However, elderly persons, especially persons with co-morbidity, are at a higher risk. The infection can be quite serious for them and lead to death, he said.
Appreciating Odisha’s in containing the virus, the senior doctor said the initiatives of Odisha need to be followed in the entire South Asia.
Of late, it is said that high temperature and humidity have effect on virus to make it less dangerous. However, the virus is climatic temperature neutral, he clarified.
He also added that the strain of the virus in India appears to be of less virulent. In India, he said, vaccinations for diseases like BCG & polio, and massive use of anti-malaria drugs may be a cause of enhanced immunity and the disease may not create critical situation in India. However, all these are hypothesis which need further research, he explained.
Speaking on the herd immunity idea, he said that it might prove to be very dangerous as it might lead to high fatality. It is better to focus on herd protection by focusing more on disease containment and protection of vulnerable groups, he added.
Stating that police personnel are as vulnerable as healthcare workers, he advised to develop temporary physical barricades, protection of eyes by providing goggles, gloves and other general protection methods.
Reddy has worked in various expert committees of the World Health Organisation (WHO). Now he is a member in the executive group of international steering committee on COVID Solidarity Group Trial of WHO.