Right vaccines, masks, social distancing need of the hour

After the experience of the first lockdown, the government must undertake a cost-benefit analysis to measure the likely gain of a lockdown versus the burgeoning economic costs of basically shutting the economy down, in a country, with many poor people already reeling from an economic downturn both before and after the pandemic.

Nearly a month after the health minister declared that Covid-19 had been contained, States such as Maharashtra in the west and Kerala in the south have reported a spike in cases amid growing reluctance to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

Israel is easing lockdown restrictions as studies there reveal the Pfizer vaccine is 95.8 per cent effective in preventing hospitalisations and death. The health ministry says it is the first stage of returning to normal life. Israel has the highest vaccination rate in the world. More than 49 per cent of people have received at least one dose.

However, people who are not vaccinated should take extreme precautions of wearing masks and social distancing. Scenes of huge crowds at melas, markets with cheap groceries are disturbing and this should be contained.

India is using two vaccines for its vaccination programme that started on January 16 with 1,07,67,000 people vaccinated and 14 lakh also having received a second dose. The vaccines are Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield being manufactured by Serum Institute and Covaxin being produced by Bharat Biotech. Covaxin, Bharat Biotech has said that they can modify the vaccine against coronavirus South African variant within 15 days.

According to the government, everyone above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities will be able to get Covid-19 vaccine from March 1 for free at government facilities and for a charge prescribed by the government at many private hospitals.

AstraZeneca and Oxford University's Covid-19 vaccine is more effective when its second dose is given three months after the first, instead of six weeks, a peer-reviewed study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Efficacy was found to be at 81 per cent with the longer interval of 12 weeks between the first and second dose, compared with 55 per cent efficacy up to the six-week gap, according to the Lancet study, which backs WHO recommendations for longer intervals.

Faced with a year that unleashed a pandemic and devastated lives and livelihoods, almost universally, without any discrimination of class, caste or geography, the need of the hour is the right vaccines, masks, social distancing at all costs and over-crowding.