India has started to push booster dose under the tag name “precaution” starting January 10. However, the vaccine will be available for people aged 60 and above with comorbidities, health care workers. India has already started to vaccinate kids between 15 to 18 years of age with Covaxin, which is fully manufactured in India. According to estimates, over 1.05 healthcare, 1.9 crore frontline workers, and 2.75 crore comorbid people above 60 years of age are eligible for precaution dose.

The COVID-19 is spreading like wildfire again after a lull and hence it’s important to get vaccinated early. It’s to be noted that vaccination is a complete medicine but the impact will be low if you get infected with COVID-19. The reports suggest that fully vaccinated people are recovering within 5 days.

The Government of India has announced that personnel and staff members deployed in election duty in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa have also been designated as frontline workers. The union health ministry has issued guidelines that the gap between the date of administration of the second dose of vaccine and the precaution dose would be 9 months.

The Government announced that there should be no mix and match of vaccines for the precaution dose. The precaution dose will be the same as the previous two doses. For example, if you had administered Covaxin for the first two doses, then precaution will be the same Covaxin. In case of Covishield, the precaution dose will be the same Covishield. Previously, there were reports that the vaccines would be mixed but the move was dropped due to inadequate testing.

As part of the vaccination drive, CoWIN will automatically send reminder messages for all people who are eligible for the dose. You will have to schedule your appointment after the receipt of the message by logging into CoWIN portal. However, you will be able to schedule the dose only on or after the due date mentioned against your name. The vaccination certificate will be updated after the administration of the dose. You need not have to produce or submit any certificate from a doctor at the time of administration of the precaution dose. The private hospitals can also participate in the vaccination drive by conducting camps for their doctors, nurses, and other paramedical staff.

If you are 60 years, just login to COWIN portal and schedule your appointment at the earliest provided if you had taken second dose 9 months back. It’s simple to register and you can do it without third-party help and assistance.

No doubt, COVID-19 is a deadly pandemic, which has affected the life of millions of people across the world. We lost several people including top celebrities. The loss is irreversible and it takes several years for the whole world to heal. The origin of COVID-19 dates back to Wuhan in China. The origin of the COVID-19 reveolves around wet markets in China. There were reports that COVID is a man made virus in a private lab near Wuhan, whyich was vetted by US President Donald Trump. Whatever may be, we have to face the challenge of COVID-19 as advised by the local Government authorities. The development of COVID-19 vaccine is under full swing all over the world and we have to wait until something emerges. In this article, we will examine the top advantages of COVID-19 in real world scenario.

Splitting on roads banned

Gone are days, when someone splits publicly on the road when you are walking. It was really a bad idea because saliva contains germs and viruses. No one bothered about it at that time. We could have told the person who did the act but we don’t know what’s there in their mind. There are chances that the concerned person could turn violent causing injuries for no fault of ourselves. With the emergence of COVID-19, Government has itself banned open splitting on the roads and imposed penalties. For example, the Kerala Government has imposed a penalty if you split openly. If there was no COVID, no one would have bothered about it. It’s true that Modi Government had launched the Swach Bharat initiative but few state Governments were reluctant to implement and even criticized the move. The current situation is that the same political leaders who initially opposed the scheme has started to implement it because of COVID-19 pandemic.

Proper Sanitization

We used to wash hands with Soap before COVID-10. Have you ever thought of using a Sanitizer? Nearly 95 percent of people never heard of using Sanitizer before COVID-19. After the outbreak of COVID, you can find the presence of sanitizer where ever you go. You can also carry a small bottle and use the sanitizer when you establish contact with some objects. If you touch other objects, wash your hands with sanitizer. According to experts, this will help eradicate viruses but there is no substantial proof. You can also use regular soap like Lifebuoy, Dove, Cinthol, and much more.

No contact Thermometer

Have you ever heard of a no-contact thermometer before COVID-19? Your doctor would have used a regular thermometer with mercury between your tongue to test the temperature. Those days are gone. Nowadays, medical professionals are using no-contact thermometers to gather your temperature. If you step-in to visit a supermarket, hospital, or any other establishment, your temperature will be verified with a wireless temperature scanner. They will not touch your body but just show the thermometer near your head or hand. The temperature will be displayed and you will be permitted inside the complex if your parameter is within the range. The purpose of using no contact thermometer is to identify whether you have fever or not, which is the first sign of COVID-19.

Usage of Masks

How many times you had covered your face while going out in Auto, Bus, Train, or even walking with a handkerchief? You need not have to do that anymore because face masks have become part and parcel of our daily life. The emergence of COVID-19 has necessitated the compulsory usage of masks whenever you step out of the house. Moreover, you can also use masks even when you are inside the house.

According to experts, proper usage of masks will help you to avoid contact with a COVID-19 positive person. Even if you speak to that person, his droplets from the mouth won’t reach your body if you make use of masks. We have seen medical professionals using masks in hospitals before COVID-19 but not the ordinary citizen. Going forward, you will not be able to avoid masks and it has become a daily necessity. Even after the vaccine availability, you will be required to use the masks to avoid COVID-19.

Online Schooling

Have you ever thought of a full academic year without school? When online learning was introduced via TV in Keralal in 2005 under the Chief Ministership of Ommen Chandy, Left parties crtisized. The teacher union conducted strike and hartals to protest against the introduction of Digital learning. However, the then CM was adamant and implemented the project via Victers channel. The lessons were mainly used as a supplement to traiditonal classroom learning. After 15 years, Karma has haunted teachers including those with Left mindset. The community had to accept the reality of online learning in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic. The schools ad colleges were closed due to COVID-19 and the only way to learn is to make use of the lessons imparted via Victers channel and other video conferencing modes.

Conclusion

The COVID-19 will stay for the next 1-2 years depending upon the efforts of the local Government authorities. If a credible vaccine is developed, then the pandemic can be arrested to a large extent. Otherwise, we will have to fight COVID-19 by following the thuimb rule of SMS, which stands for Soap/Sanitizer, Mask and Social Distancing. Even though the pandemic is dangerous since it speads from one person to another, there are advantages as mentioned above. Going forward, we will follow the above mentioned advantages in addition to keeping us safe during the pandemic season.