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Wipro’s Azim Premji Tops Hurun Philanthropy List of 2020
After contributing a huge amount of over INR 7,904 crore to charity, the Founder-Chairman of Wipro, Azim Premji, has now reached at the top of the Hurun India and EdelGive India Philanthropy List of 2020. Besides, founder and chairman of HCL Technologies, Shiv Nadar, Chairman of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group and Anil Agarwal of Vedanta Group ranked second, third, fourth and fifth respectively in the same list.
Born and brought up in Mumbai of city of India, this multitalented Indian business entrepreneur has served Wipro Limited as Chairman and has been guiding the company for almost 40 years. His incessant efforts and diversified knowledge finally brought him in the list of global leader in the software industry. Azim Premji, who is also known with his full name as Azim Hasham Premji, was born on July 24, 1945 and during the early 21st century; he became one of the wealthiest people of the world.
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Going back to his childhood, Premji’s his father had founded Western Indian Vegetable Products Ltd in the same year he was born and produced vanaspati, a widely used hydrogenated shortening. But few years later when the colonial India was partitioned into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan, Premji’s family who belonged to a Muslim clan, chose to remain in India. Premji’s father, Mohamed Hashim Premji, died just before he could complete his Engineering Degree from Stanford University In the year 1966. However, Premji postponed his degree and returned to India to look after family business. Consequently, he began diversifying his business started delving into consumer products like: soap, shoes, and light bulbs, as well as hydraulic cylinders.
In 1977, Premji renamed the company Wipro. Soon after the government of India asked IBM to quit the country, Premji took advantage of the situation and spread his business toward the business of computer. Among various other achievements of the company, Wipro has also been in news for its successful international partnerships in the 1980s to help it build computer hardware for sale in India.
And, hence, this Indian business man built a reputation for hiring the best people and providing them with unparalleled training. This way Prem ji took full benefits of the country’s large pool of well-educated software developers who were willing to work for much less money than their American counterparts. The company completely focused on developing custom software for export, primarily to the United States. Wipro’s value skyrocketed during the years 1990s and the company substantially increased in technology stocks. It was in 1999, when Premji officially completed his degree from Stanford University through a distance-learning arrangement. As such, in the 21st century, Premji became one of the richest entrepreneurs in the world. His reputation always remained that of a highly ethical entrepreneur whose operation served as a model for other Indian firms.
However, the success of the company as well as its Chairman, was all about the way the company had spread its wing across the world and enticed the world market. By transforming Wipro into Information Technology powerhouse and establishing itself in the foreign markets Premji had boldly broken with tradition. It all happened only when majorities of Indian business tycoons were based on ownership of land and factories used to produce domestically consumed goods.
In spite of being one of the wealthiest men in the world, Premji was always maintained normalcy like a common man, though he was well recognized for his human relations approach, lack of extravagance and charity in thought. This Indian businessman in the year 2001 established the nonprofit organization, Azim Premji Foundation.
Through, this foundation he focused on improving the quality of elementary education in rural pockets on India. The foundation had however extended computer-aided education to more than 16,000 schools, with child-friendly content increasingly available in local languages by the end of the first decade of the 21st century.
MUKESH AMBANI, PUSHING A FRESH OF ‘INDUSTRIAL GROWTH’
In 2008, the Indian Business tycoon, Mukesh Ambani, turned to be world’s richest man, but it was for a short period. Through his unprecedented courage and unparalleled hard work, he became the richest man of India holding this position for the past eight consecutive years. Being the eldest son of the yesteryear business bigwig, Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries, Mukesh Ambani, was chosen as the chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries.
By making his gross worth of about USD 24 billion, Ambani became the owner of over 45 per cent of the Reliance Industries. Years ago, both sons of Dhirubahi, including Anil Ambani and Mukesh Ambani, jointly ran the business. But in business, they continued their togetherness till their father was alive. Almost three years after the demise of the India’s elderly businessman, Dhirubhai Ambani, who left for heavenly abode on July 2, 2002, the entire business set up was divided among both the brothers.
Hence, after the division, Dhirubhai’s eldest son retained the Oil & Gas with him and his younger, Anil hold, took up the charge of Telecom, Infrastructure and Finance. In order to understand the facts of the Reliance Industries, it would be important take a glance of business set up of Mukesh Ambani.
The crude oil refinery located in Jamnagar, Gujarat. This is one of the biggest oil refineries in the world. It contributes more than 2 per cent of the entire processing capacity of the world. Apart from constituting about 15 per cent the country’s exports, it constitutes almost 4 per cent of its stock market capitalization and 3 per cent of its tax revenues and is the country’s largest private corporate investor.
Besides, pursuing Master in Business Administration from the University of Stanford, this top Biz Man of India completed his Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Mumbai. Meanwhile, Ambani stopped his study and chose to assist his father in the construction of a polyester filament yarn plant. Although, the Reliance industry was founded by Dhirubhai Ambani in the year 1957, but later on his eldest son took up the charge. Consequently, he decided to enter textile manufacturing but scarcity of a real distribution arm and scarce of fund brought his growing business out from the mainstream in 1977. Thereafter, in 1993 he set up a new petroleum subsidiary, though became the largest ever IPO of India at that time.
The company also issued GD INR in Luxembourg during the year 1993-94 and turned to be the first ever Indian company that issued GDR. The Reliance Company, in the year 1997, got permission to build its oil refinery at Jamnagar. But in 1999, it won 12 oil blocks for exploration in the KrishnaGodavari Basin in the Bay of Bengal. The company also expanded into the telecom sector in 2002.
Reliance company during Mukesh’s tenure witnessed more than 6 times growth. And, the profits increased over three times right from the year 2005. Later on, the trouble arose when he found that the expected output from the KG-D6 basin was not seen up to the mark and the situation brought company’s efforts to get a higher price from the government for its gas. His sudden incursion into retail, 4G wireless broadband and media clearly turned to be a good sign for the growth and development of Reliance Company. In addition the company entered into the highly competitive telecom sector again with the 4G broadband venture of Reliance.
On the other hands, owning Network 18, created a lot of commotion in the country. Farce criticisms spread against Mukesh Ambani. Entering to the world of cricket by bringing Mumbai cricket team in the name of IPL in 2008 when he a bought an another wave of development in his life.
Noticeably, Reliance had never been technologically troublesome organization, but with the adoption of modern technologies, the company was able to build a robust supply chain and achieved significant economic growth. As Ambani’s father, Dhirubhai Ambani, struggled hard to get rid of all odds in establishing Reliance, especially because of anti-privatization wave, he faced multiple challenges during the pre-liberalization. But Ultimately, Mukesh Ambani made his creative and incessant efforts to win the situation and finally remained to the country’s largest entrepreneur.
US BASED STARTUP, FORGE SKYROCKETS IN WORLD MARKET
So far as trade shares of private companies are concerned, the rolling lucks of an age bracket of renowned start-ups like: Robinhood and Chime has now flashed a race to create the biggest marketplace. Basically supported by renowned technology giant like- Peter Thiel and Tim Draper, a US Based startup - Forge, has recently appeared to be leading. The Forge CEO, Kelly Rodriques said, “This startup is considered as the largest of all the fresh venues that have made their productions in recent periods to facilitate trading in private companies, including rivals like: JPMorgan Chase-backed Zanbato and EquityZen”. This company has gone from handling about USD700 million in trades in 2018 to match that volume on a quarterly basis this year. The Forge CEO said that they were absolutely the biggest by the number of trades, the volume of trades on larger numbers of companies, by revenue, and just the pure liquidity that they had offered. “We have been consulting a billion dollars a quarter of volume, and we’ll start doing that kind of volume on a monthly basis in the two-three quarters”, he added.
While, the requirements for the employees and investors to sell their private shares have increased soon after some of the start-ups postponed spreading their wings in public for over a decade or two, the trading shares of private companies has traditionally been difficult. This is coinciding with the growing demand from the various investors, especially the institutional one, for stock in pre-IPO companies. PitchBook Data revealed that the Venture-backed firms were worth more than USD2 trillion in the year 2020.
It all took the Forge and similar other players towards utmost growth and development. Now, they can hope to have brought standardization, more data and easier, faster trades to the private market — blurring the traditional divisions between the public and private realms. As cited by Rodriques, growth has attracted the investors betting that a few players will eventually dominate the nascent market. Recently, Forge increased USD150 million from investors, including Wells Fargo and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund Temasek, CNBC learned. The company is now worth approximately USD700 million after the recent collections of fund, triple its 2018 valuation. On the other hands, the company has also drawn the attention of the renowned investment banks of the world. In the year 2020, the JPMorgan had attracted Andrew Tuthill from Forge to lead the new private stock trading business of the bank.
Besides, Goldman Sachs had recently poached a business development head from Forge named Jack Fowler for its own efforts. Just like many of the fast-growing companies, Forge lists on its trading platform, it is on a steep upward trajectory.
Significantly, the central banks always stood to extend required help. Holding up public equity markets and forcing yieldhungry investors into private companies, these banks have released trillion dollars as incentives post Coronavirus pandemic.
Rodriques said that they had spectacular growth, 30 per cent beyond even his big projections during the last three quarters. This is a business that is going to be a unicorn in the year 2021. It will give our valuation trajectory and several hundred million dollars of revenue visibility over the next two – three years. Portions of the growth reflect from obtaining a rival platform. Forge acquired another San Francisco-based platform for trading private stock called - SharesPost in 2020 in a USD160 million cash and stock deal. As per Forge, the joint entities have handled over USD9 billion in trades for about 400 private companies.
Presently the Forge that has recently received approval to operate as a single broker-dealer with its acquired firm has almost 300,000 investors on its platform. Over 80 per cent of those users are highnet worth individuals, while 20 per cent are venture capital firms, hedge funds, family offices and trading desks at banks. Rodriques believes that this is going to be a race that can fetch more liquidity than anybody else in the world. In case any trader wishes to sell or purchase a private stock or if he or she does not check on Forge, there must be a high likelihood that is either going to sell too low or buy so high that one can feel is very improper.
INDIAN STARTUPS & THEIR ECOSYSTEM WITNESS QUICK MODIFICATION
Over the past one decade, the ecosystem of Indian startups & corporate activities has seen quick modification. However, at this stage what seems to be a big challenge for the firms based on technology are: job creations and other such issues. Indian institutions often creates over 1.5 million engineers every year, but out of then all only 5 per cent can pursue basic programming and coding. Majorities of them appears with a large scale skill gapes and are not able to find perfect employment for them. Almost 90 per cent of engineers that are in the market are not at all complete enough to pursue jobs.
Lack of availability skilful candidates with basic knowledge has always appeared as a panic for tech-bound startups. It often raises several questions on the education system and urges quick reform in the entire system. The basic fault is that the incumbent system of examination basically concentrates on examination not on skill development. As such most required corrections in the syllabus should be the main focus of the government, candidates, teaching staffs and the institutions to generate more skillful and technically sound candidates. The two entrepreneurs are now establishing school that will enrich the students with skill and let them learn about coding.
In the way of Silicon Valley-based Lambda School, Masai is a military-style coding school that provides a 24-week rigorous completestack web development program – it includes front-end, back-end & database engineering courses. Significant program comprises 1,000 hours of hands-on coding, 100 hours of soft skills training- communication and presentation skills and 100 hours on building mathematical skills and all concentrated on creating a job-ready labor force. The significant part of the syllabus is that it does not need an engineering degree as basic criteria. It also does not asks the candidates to pay truthful fees for the course.
Noticeably, Masai School that works on the Income Share Agreement model often replaces the candidates only after they find employment. The ISA based institution business model of India recently began to gain momentum. This model that has enormous potential in India primarily because of its large student-base, is now catching up with the students. Over 6-7 startups now providing ISA model in the country. AttainU, InterviewBit, Jaaga Study, Pesto Tech and AltCampus are among others where the startups are now operating with the model.
Presently, Bengaluru-based coding school charges about 15 per cent with a maximum cap of INR 3 lakh. The coding school has announced its second centre in Patna, apart from Bengaluru. The invention of Prateek Shukla, Nrupul Dev and Yogesh Bhatt, Masai had sown the seeds capital from India Quotient and some angel investors. Lambda School is one of the most successful bodies which generally train coders. The firm has been piloting in India with a plan to have full-fledged launch in near future with a huge presence in the US, UK and Europe. When speak to tech-enabled startups in India, reaching out to above average coders and programmers is limited. And hence, setting up a high-quality product from India or for it is not at all so easy.
Startups that end up raising significant scheme capital money often manage to get quality programmers or the coders. Over 90 per cent of startups, which do not have a depth pocket and swanky workspaces to lure the high quality tech resources, have to integrate or strive. Masai and Lambda could be answers to such ventures, in case they are able to scale up. The quality of coders from Masai can only be assessed when the first cohort would get to work on the ground.
INDIAN ARMY DEDICATES 3 HOSPITALS FOR CORONAVIRUS PATIENTS
India is likely to get the remaining 5 Aircraft by June-July 2021 after Egypt placed order of 30 Rafale fighter jets. During the last week of May 2021, the Air Force will have 24 Rafale fighter jets in India. After the next batch of 4 Rafale fighters coming at Ambala from Merignac-Bordeaux airbase in France on May 19-20, the IAF resolved to resurrect the 101 Falcons of Chamb. Landing of Rafale in the country will be confirmed by accessibility of the UAE’s mid-air refuelers. As per the statement given by the Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh, it is obvious that the complete deliveries of 36 aircraft will be finished by April 2022. During May, the IAF will have 24 Rafale fighter jets in India, after additional 7 kept for the purpose of training in France and another 5 to be handed over soon.
Base of the Second Squadron is being prepared at Hashimara with repaved increasing the runways. The air base of Hashimara is being completely revamped & it must be functional by the end of this month. It would be the quality time positioning of the aircraft, especially during the times. After the country decided purchase additional front-line fighters to fulfill the stopped need of 126 medium multi-role battle aircraft, the country was not only offered hot engine technology but it is also considering to develop extended range and capability Hammer air-to-ground missile in the concept of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Further, France has provided to divide and develop the technology together for longer range and strong Highly Agile and Manoeuvrable Munition Extended Range that is presently termed as weapons wrap up on the Rafale in India. Hammer weapon, with a range of more than 70 km, can be directed on to the target using GPS. The fresh version of this weapon posses a 1,000 Km bomb and amazing technology for guidance.
As a part of the continued fight against the raging unprecedented rise in COVID -19 cases, Western command dedicated 3 Covid Hospitals to the nation under the Indian Army Operation Namaste .Lieutenant General RP Singh, General Officer Commanding in Chief , Western Command announced the operationalisation of first Western Command 100 bedded COVID Hospital in co-ordination with UT administration at International Students Hostel of Punjab University, Sector 25 Chandigarh in presence of HE Shri V P Singh Bandore , Governor of Punjab and UT Administrator. Further, Atal Bihari Vajpayee Hospital, Faridabad and Rajindra Government Hospital, Patiala also will be made operationalised on 11 May 2021 and 12 May 2021 respectively .Western Army Commander dedicates these Hospitals to the respective states and made a special mention that these hospitals have been set up on a war footing in coordination with the civil administration of respective states/ UT. The hospitals have the capacity to accommodate and treat mild to moderate / symptomatic patients suffering from COVID 19. The Army has deployed its Doctors, Nursing Officers and Paramedics for holistic treatment to patients as per ICMR guidelines, provided service ambulances and trained personnel for administration and management of the hospital. The civil administration is facilitating essential amenities, service management, uninterrupted oxygen supply, patient admission & discharge and ambulance services at these hospitals.
The hospitals will also cater for basic laboratory, X-Ray, Pharmacy and catering for patients. The admission to these Hospitals will be opened to all citizens and coordinated by the CMO of the respective Districts. On admission, ISO numbers will be given by the respective hospital management however; the discharge of patients will be on recommendation of the Army Medical Officer treating the patient. Patients requiring higher grade of treatment will be shifted to other Hospitals, coordinated by the CMO as per availability of ICU facilities.
INDIAN ARMY ESTABLISHES COVID HOSPITAL IN PATIALA
Following a joint meeting held at Rajindra Hospital on 07 May 21, between army authorities, hospital administration and the Patiala Civil administration a COVID Hospital at Rajindra Hospital, Patiala has been made operational at war footing where the division of responsibilities between Army and Civil/ Hospital administration has been already elaborately worked out. The hospital was dedicated to the people of Patiala and Punjab in presence of Preneet Kaur, Member of Parliament from Patiala and Major General Mohit Malhotra, General officer commanding Airawat Division. This is the third such facility which has been established by the Army’s Western Command in conjunction with the civil administration for augmenting the medical infrastructure to fight the raging COVID pandemic in the country. Before this a 100 bedded hospital was dedicated on 10th May at International Students Hostel of Punjab University, Chandigarh and Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Government Medical College , Chhainsa and Faridabad. A dedicated team of doctors and HCWs of the Indian Army have commenced the functioning of this Hospital on the second floor of the newly created Super Specialty Building of Rajindra Hospital. The trained staff under the Medical Officers of the Indian Army working in close coordination with the hospital authorities shall ensure that quality treatment is provided to affected COVID patients. The services being rendered under the aegis of Western Command of Indian Army will enhance the State Government’s effort to fight the pandemic and also provide an opportunity to the Army to contribute towards the national cause of containing the spread of the deadly virus so as to eventually make the country COVID free.
WC OF INDIAN ARMY COMES UP TO HELP IN CORONA PANDEMIC
India’s COVID-19 crisis and the extraordinary surge in last one month across the country has become a matter of National concern. In a recent virtual meet between Captain Amarinder Singh, Chief Minister of Punjab and Lt Gen RP Singh, Army Commander Western Command, the Honorable Chief Minister shared his concerns on the rising trend in the fresh infections especially in the major cities of Punjab and sought for assistance of Western Command to manage the COVID crisis in terms of setting up Military COVID Field Hospitals, provisioning of paramedics and technical assistance to revive the disused OxygenPlants in the state. The Army Commander assured the honorable Chief Minister of all possible assistance within the institutional capacity of Western Command to help manage the crisis.
Consequent to the virtual meet with the Chief Minister of Punjab and requests received from other states, Western Command, which has the footprints in the state of Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, HP and UTs of Chandigarh & Delhi is in the process of setting up various COVID related facilities. Apart from contributing 108 doctors, 14 Nursing Officers and 205 paramedics in various hospitals set up by DRDO, Western Command is setting up 100 bedded COVID Hospitals at Chandigarh, Patiala and Faridabad, which will have the capacity to accommodate 100 mild to moderate symptomatic patients. The Hospitals at Chandigarh, Patiala and Faridabad are likely to be inaugurated and opened up for civil population on 10th May 2021. In the effort to support the civil administration, paramedics from Western Command are being re-oriented towards COVID care. Presently, 33 paramedics are deployed at Government Rajendra Hospital at Patiala, SVBP Hospital at Delhi and another 100 paramedics are to be deployed shortly at various locations. To tide over the shortage of Oxygenin the region, a dedicated team of Army Electronics and Mechanical Engineers are working round the clock to resuscitate the Oxygen plant under Bhakra Beas Management at Nangal. Lt Gen RP Singh, Army Commander Western Command has assured the state administrations of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and UTs of Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir of full commitment from the Indian Army in these testing times.
THE SAFFRON, A PARADIGM OF ‘SELF RELIANT INDIA’
With the saffron Party (BJP) completing its 41 years of its magnificent journey, the enthusiasm of the saffron leaders to serve the motherland goes further strengthened. No doubt, the party leaders have received unparalleled love and blessings from majorities of people across the country. The growing trust of the citizens in the BJP can be witnessed its continuous organizational expansion making it the largest political party of the world. The BJP is a political party that believes in the philosophy of ‘Integral Humanism’. In another word, it has turned to be a phenomenon in itself. The Mantra of ‘Sabka Saath- Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’, has turned to be the guiding principle for the Party. The Bharatiya Janata Party has not only become a symbol of good governance and development across the country, instead it has also emerged as a political party committed to democracy. Practically, the BJP fought for the restoration of democratic rights during emergency and there is no doubt that this is the only political party in the country that has a flourishing internal democracy while the other political parties have become victims of dynastic and caste based politics. Indeed, the saffron party represents the aspirations of an ‘Aatmnirbhar Bharat’. During the Assembly Polls that took place in five states recently, the BJP has emerged as the hope for the people. On the other hands, the polling in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala have been completed almost one and a half month ago, the polling processes in the West Bengal were completed by the first week of May 2021. This is most inspiring to see that people have been coming out in large numbers and exercising their voting rights to elect government in their states. The percentage of polling was witnessed ranging from 65 per cent to even more than 80 per cent in these elections which points towards the immense success of Indian democracy. Moreover, the successful conduct of polling even in West Bengal may be termed as another achievement for the party that our democratic polity can witness the moment of proud. So far as the Election Commission is concerned, it has played an extremely vigilant role in conducting peaceful and fair polls in the West Bengal.
The contemplations and diversion of the masses in these elections remained upbeat throughout the electoral process with massive gatherings in the BJP rallies and public meetings. Like a hard work, various new schemes and futuristic policies of the National Democratic Alliance Government in Assam has resulted in peace, development and progress of the state, people are set to bless the BJP-NDA government again. A huge wave against the incumbent CM, Mamata Bannerjee, and the TMC misrule, corruption, cut-money, tolabaji, dynastic politics and regressive policies were evident on the ground during the recently concluded assembly elections in West Bengal. The saffron party has received massive blessings as a part of votes from the people. The voters, collectively, showed that the state would have the BJP government, when the votes were counted. People in Tamil Nadu were witnessed appreciating special efforts by the centre for the development of the state and the way state government has delivered on its promises. The result is that the National Democratic Alliance Government seems certain in the state. There is a huge public resentment against the misrule and corruption of the earlier Congress government and people have reported to have voted for the NDA Government in Puducherry,. In Kerala, the saffron was set to emerge as a formidable force in the state. Speaking to the office bearers of the BJP and the Party activists through video conference on BJP Foundation Day, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, has rightly said that the BJP represents transparency and good governance, keeps the idea of ‘Nation First’ and national security foremost and never compromises with national interests while implementing right policies with right intention and takes right decisions for the people. The BJP National President, Jagat Prakash Nadda, while addressing the karyakartas on the occasion, praised the services rendered by BJP karyakartas during the Covid-19 pandemic. The BJP has emerged as a unique political party on the basis of the continuous hard work of its committed karyakartas making the nation proud through its dedication to the goals of national reconstruction. As the saffron activists remained committed in the services of the motherland, a proud nation is destined to serve the humanity across the world.
CORNER OF NCR WHERE SAGA OF UNIFORM BEGINS
By Sidharth Mishra
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava actually cut a sorry figure stating that these volunteers should not be allowed to use the Delhi Police barricades to stop the vehicles
There is a small market known as ‘Edward Lines’ in the Kingsway Camp area of North Delhi. This market essentially served in the older times the Delhi Police Lines which exists next to it, rather the market is on the periphery of the huge Police Line Campus. Over the past few years, it has seen some change but a set of shops have remained rooted in good old times. These are four or five shops of tailors and drapers, who specialize in stitching khaki uniforms worn by the Delhi Police personnel. They have varieties of Khaki fabric to suit every pocket from a constable to the Indian Police Service (IPS) officials. For the past few months these shops are witnessing a boom in their business, as the Arvind Kejriwal Government has let loose on the streets of Delhi khaki wearing civil defense volunteers, whose uniform differs with that of Delhi Police only in the color of the beret, which is similar to worn by the Indian Army commandos.
Delhi Government’s justification in deploying them is ostensibly to prosecute those who are not following Covid measures. Now prosecution and persecution are similar sounding words. Whether, they have powers of prosecution or not, many may have doubts. There, however, is unanimity of them persecuting citizens belligerently acting beyond their brief. A recent image of a khaki wearing volunteer beating a student with his uniform belt remained one of the titles of very popular pulp fiction novel, ‘Vardiwala Gunda’ (a criminal in uniform). In addition to those manufacturing masks,
sanitizers and other medical essentials, the pandemic has opened up the opportunity for these civil defense volunteers too, with claims of extortion piling up against them. They could be seen on the roads laying in wait for their preys, particularly those who appear less-groomed, who often take them to be police personnel. Many people have complained that these volunteers often assume the role of traffic police and stop even those who might be wearing a mask but not the helmet or who haven’t fastened their seat belt. The possibility of they acting as moral police (akin to Romeo Squads of neighboring Uttar Pradesh) too cannot be ruled out with Kejriwal promising a ‘Ram Rajya’ in the city. To add to this whole drama of absurd, which the city could have avoided in the grim Covid times, is the helplessness of Delhi Police to control a new form of lawlessness on the city roads. These volunteers extort money by threatening people with a jail term in case they fail to pay the fine, with the real policemen standing by as mute spectators. Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava actually cut a sorry figure stating that these volunteers should not be allowed to use the Delhi Police barricades to stop the vehicles. He has asked his district police chiefs to ensure that people do not confuse civil defense volunteers with police personnel and a clear distinction can be made between them.
How would that happen, Mr Commissioner? Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who started of his career as head of the government by sitting on a historic dharna at the Rail Bhawan to protest against the police atrocities, has now come a long way in initiating to make Delhi a ‘police state’. What’s audacious about the move is the fact that the Delhi Police, the legal arm of prosecution, is with the central government as are the subject of law and order. Civil defense volunteers may have a role in assisting administration in times of natural or man-made calamities but certainly a role of a law-maintaining authority has not been authorized for them under any rule book. Why is the Centre and the Lieutenant Governor looking the other way? Only they can explain.
A LIFE AMID THE ‘DAWN OF DEATHS’
By Sidharth Mishra
Numbers of people dying in the pandemic, just remains to be a figure till one does not lose a known face, a dear acquaintance or a close relative. There would not be many left in the city of Delhi and its prosperous suburbs to whom death in pandemic would have by now remained just figures; it has become part of painful personal emotions in the majority of the families. Thus government flaunting figures become inconsequential, as almost everyone is in pain of a grievous loss. True speaking, myriads of people have died and many others are still in queues.
The NCT of Delhi for many has been like a lifeline. It gave succor to everyone in need, be it for education, for a job, for a shelter or be it treatment for an ailment. Today Delhi is gasping for breath. Delhi is important because it’s the microsom which represent the nation, and it too is not any less breathless. The way people in the city are haplessly falling victim to a failed medical system, the death in the numbers is only comparable to when Nadir Shah raided Delhi and let his soldier loot, rape and kill its citizens. The current narratives going around in the city are not just about people dying because oxygen was not available but their struggle to survive and make every attempt to live despite death staring in their face. The struggle to get life-saving drugs, which the government announces to have lowered the price, is being sold in the black market, last heard at 45 times higher the printed cost. The government is selling the narratives of oxygen being transported on express trains, being air lifted but on ground the story is that people are dying like stacks of hay burning, waiting for the oxygen to come through the pipelines. History has it that when Nadir Shah’s army went on the rampage, then ruler of Delhi, Mohammed Shah Rangila kept up a brave face claiming
Delhi Police Commissioner SN Shrivastava actually cut a sorry fi gure stating that these volunteers should not be allowed to use the Delhi Police barricades to stop the vehicles
that he was doing every bit to defend his people. Despite Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal pulling out all the weapons in his armour, including an emotive act in a meeting with the prime minister, to claim that he was doing his best for Delhi, the fact remains that what’s happening in Delhi is no less than the carnage its citizens faced at the hands of Nadir Shah’s soldiers. The misery of the families of the Covid-infected doesn’t end with the death of the patient. If running from pillar-to-post for getting the drugs and oxygen at premium to save breath was not enough, the road to ‘moksha’ too is coming at a very high cost. Why only blame those selling Remdesivir injections and oxygen cylinders at a premium, those operating the hearse vans to priestschating mantra at crematorium have taken to the ways of hyenas and vultures, preying on the flesh of the dead. Delhi today is a deserted city but for the sound of ambulances zipping surround with blaring sirens and the traffic jams in front of the crematoriums and the burial grounds. While the long queues at the liquor vends often made stories in happier times, as of now the waiting at the ‘moksha dwars’ are emotionally pulverizing. The fear of opening social media pages, lest the news of the death of someone known would pop-up, has left us the citizens in the state of schizophrenia.
In such state of misery, succour comes not from pontificating leaders but from the legendary morale of brave citizens who for centuries have withstood the wave of raiders and epidemics helping out each other, holding hands and fighting their own battles for survival. It’s not just the argumentative Indian but a inherently good Indian which is keeping this nation alive, though there would be worthless many to take the credit for it.
(First Published in the New Indian Express)
MAJORITIES BATTLE WITH DEADLY VIRUS, NOT THE GOVERNMENT
By Mihir Sharma
In case any individual finds himself or herself healthy and safe in the Coronavirus stricken NCR, life may feel strange or disconnected. In fact, there is an undecided lockdown. The entire NCR seems have turned into a silent zone except for the chirping sounds of varieties of birds. On the other hands, the social media has become an unfolding tapestry of tragedy. Most of the people beg for help finding hospital beds and life-saving medicines. Our friends and acquaintances, often call and text us asking if we could arrange oxygen concentrator for the home. Besides a large chunk are now battling the deadly coronavirus. In the face of an extraordinary situation, the country and the authorities appears more interested in point-scoring and blame-games instead of assisting the needy persons. Whether they are Ministers, officials or even government counsels persisting that there is no dearth of hospitals or oxygen across the region, despite one can see all these transparently.
Although the situation is worsening day by day and the country’s biggest state, UP, is bitter example. Here we may be confused over the existence of the humanitarian disaster for months. Some deaths are being recorded and the state's administration has warned those spreading online ‘rumors’- including the family members gasping for oxygen. And then, they may be prosecuted under draconian national-security laws. Possibly, majorities of us must not be amazed. May be we should not have expected this much of the notoriously fragile Indian state. There is no avoidance, the basic confusion of the 21st
India’s capabilities are truly known the billion-plus people. Indian Government has resolved to spend on health in particular has always been shockingly low.
century India is that it is one of the largest economies, ambitious and inspirational states of the world. Still, this is termed as a poor country, with a per capita income one-fifth of the republic of China. India’s capabilities are truly known the billion-plus people. Indian Government has resolved to spend on health in particular has always been shockingly low. In the various rural pockets of UP, actual needs of the hundreds of thousands of citizens may be filled by just five health centers. Interestingly, none of them are qualified doctor. Besides, the citizens need more than the basics. In Delhi, the local government often talks up its expenditure on primary health centers, which are indeed vital. But that has not made up for the lack of tertiary care, which is what most Covid-19 patients need.
Over the years, many Indians believed the private sector could make up for the shortcoming of the government. Indians mostly pay in advance and in cash when a calamity hits and hospitalization is needed. We run down our savings, or we look to personal networks for help. This is why the Indians have turned in this crisis as well to friends, family and social media. However, the pandemic is a reminder of why even a dynamic private sector needs a state that can support its efforts. That is true in the best of times. Instead, authorities can't supply enough oxygen or even tell us which hospital has the fewest ambulances lined up outside its gates.
Lack of fund and understaffed governments like the government of India simply have no spare capacity to serve their citizens when disaster strikes. You cannot hope for the private sector to do so. Only the state can afford to carry this vital excess capacity or build it up at short notice. It does not have to be this way. The southern states of India like: Kerala and Tamil Nadu, have been better run than their northern counterparts for decades.
Recently, they have set up elaborate systems of online triage to sort out Covid-19 cases and minimize the burden on hospitals. Even the financial capital Mumbai, epicenter of the latest variant, has established war rooms in each municipal ward, manned by publicschool teachers, to triage patients and tell them where to go and what to do.
While it took too long to increase the number of hospital beds, at least the local government is allotting those beds to the neediest. Possibly, the citizens of Mumbai may be feeling less abandoned. In Delhi, whether majorities of people live and or die, still largely depends on who's in your phone book. These kinds of unfair to all of us are mostly witnessed from historically excluded religions, castes and classes.
KILLING THE DEADLY CORONAVIRUS
Safety Measures
Nations around the world are now rolling out deadly coronavirus vaccines and as such the safety of the vaccine is one of the highest priorities of the World Health Organization (WHO). The Organization is now chalking out fresh plan in close association with the national authorities to develop and implement standards to ensure these vaccines could be safe and effective. Myriads of people have safely received the vaccines. All of the approved vaccines have been carefully tested and continued to be monitored. Just like other vaccines, these vaccines go through a rigorous, multi-stage testing process, including large clinical trials that involve tens of thousands of people. These trials are specifically designed to identify any safety concerns. An extensive meeting convened by the WHO authorities has recommends whether and how the vaccines should be used. The authorities in individual countries usually decide whether to approve the vaccines for national use and develop policies for how to use the vaccines based on WHO recommendations.
Latest Vaccine Technology
Sections of these vaccines have been developed with an approach that uses messenger RNA (mRNA). This technology has been studied for over a decade, including in the development of vaccines for Zika, rabies and influenza. These have been rigorously assessed for safety and clinical trials have shown that they provide a long-lasting immune response. mRNA vaccines are not live virus vaccines and do not interfere with human DNA.
SO far the Safety of COVID-19 vaccines for different groups are concerned these vaccines have been tested in large, randomized controlled trials that include people of a broad age range, both sexes different ethnicities and those with known medical conditions. The vaccines have shown a high level of efficacy across all populations. These are safe and effective in people with various underlying medical conditions that are associated with increased risk of severe disease. Those who should consult with a doctor before vaccination include people with a compromised immune system, older people with severe frailty, people with a history of severe allergic reaction to vaccines, people living with HIV, and those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. On the other hands, pregnancy brings a higher risk of severe COVID-19, at present very little data is available to assess vaccine safety in pregnancy. people at high risk of exposure to the Coronavirus (such as health workers), or who have a history of underlying medical conditions that increase their risk of severe disease, may be vaccinated during pregnancy after consultation with their health care provider. It can be offered to those who are breastfeeding if they are part of a group recommended for vaccination. The vaccine trials for children are currently under way, and when results become available, WHO will provide updated guidance for vaccination in children.
Significant Feature of Getting Vaccinated
Vaccines are an important tool in the battling against the Coronavirus and getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to protect yourself and others from this deadly virus. These vaccines train our immune system
to recognize the targeted virus and create antibodies to fight off the disease without getting the disease itself. After vaccination, the body is ready to fight the virus if it is later exposed to it, thereby preventing illness. Majorities of people that were infected with SARS-CoV-2, develop an immune response within the first few weeks but we are still learning how strong and lasting that immune response is and how it varies between different people. Those already infected with this virus should still get vaccinated or follow the doctor’s advice. Just like any vaccine, COVID-19 vaccines can cause mild-to-moderate side effects, such as a low-grade fever or pain or redness at the injection site.
Generally two doses of these vaccines are required. It is important to get the second dose if the vaccine requires two doses. For vaccines that require two doses, the first dose presents antigens – proteins that stimulate the production of antibodies – to the immune system for the first time. Scientists call this priming the immune response. The second dose acts as a booster, ensuring the immune system develops a memory response to fight off the virus if it encounters it again. Due to the urgent need for vaccine, initial clinical trials of vaccine candidates were performed with the shortest possible duration between doses. Therefore an interval of 21–28 days (3–4 weeks) between doses is recommended by WHO. Depending on the vaccine, the interval may be extended for up to 42 days – or even up to 12 weeks for some vaccines – on the basis of current evidence. The clinical trials have shown COVID-19 vaccines to be safe and highly effective at preventing severe disease. As the vaccine rollout expands, WHO will continue to monitor the data alongside regulatory authorities. The safe and effective vaccines are making a significant contribution to preventing severe disease and death from COVID-19. As vaccines are rolling out and immunity is building, it is important to continue to follow all of the recommended measures that reduce the spread of SARS-CoV-2.
Side Effects
The Coronavirus vaccines are safe and getting vaccinated will help protect you against developing severe COVID-19 disease and dying from COVID-19. One may experience some mild side effects after getting vaccinated, which are signs that your body is building protection. These aaccines are designed to give you immunity without the dangers of getting the disease. It is common to experience some mildto-moderate side effects when receiving vaccinations. This is because your immune system is instructing your body to react in certain ways: it increases blood flow so more immune cells can circulate, and it raises your body temperature in order to kill the virus. Mild-to-moderate side effects, like a low-grade fever or muscle aches, are normal and not a cause for alarm: they are signs that the body’s immune system is responding to the vaccine, specifically the antigen (a substance that triggers an immune response), and is gearing up to fight the virus. These side effects usually go away their own after a few days.
Common and mild or moderate side effects are a good thing: they show us that the vaccine is working. Experiencing no side effects doesn’t mean the vaccine is ineffective. It means everybody responds differently. Like other vaccines, these vaccines can cause side effects, most of which are mild or moderate and go away within a few days on their own. As shown in the results of clinical trials, more serious or long-lasting side effects are possible. Vaccines are continually monitored to detect adverse events. Known side effects have mostly been mild to moderate and have lasted no longer than a few days. Typical side effects include pain at the injection site, fever, fatigue, headache, muscle pain, chills and diarrhoea. After getting the vaccine, one should be requested to stay for 15–30 minutes at the vaccination site so health workers are available in case of any immediate reactions. Individuals should alert their local health providers following vaccination if they experience any unexpected side effects or other health events – such as side effects lasting more than three days. Less common side effects reported for some COVID-19 vaccines have included severe allergic reactions such as anaphylaxis; however, this reaction is extremely rare. The side effects usually occur within the first few days of getting a vaccine. Since the first mass vaccination program started in early December 2020, hundreds of millions of vaccine doses have been administered. Few cases about vaccines making people sick have come into light. But none of the approved vaccines contain the live virus that causes COVID-19, which means that COVID-19 vaccines cannot make you sick with COVID-19. After vaccination, it usually takes a few weeks for the body to build
Common and mild or moderate side effects are a good thing: they show us that the vaccine is working
immunity against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. So it’s possible a person could be infected with SARS-CoV-2 just before or after vaccination and still get sick with COVID-19. Noticing side effects after getting vaccinated means the vaccine is working and your immune system is responding as it should. Vaccines are safe, and getting vaccinated will help protect you against the Coronavirus.
Impacts of Virus Variants the Vaccines
As a virus replicates or makes copies of itself, it sometimes changes a little bit, which is normal for a virus. These changes are called ‘mutations’. A virus with one or more new mutations is referred to as a “variant” of the original virus.
The reason that causes a virus to change to a new variant is widely circulating in a population and causing many infections, the likelihood of the virus mutating increases. The more opportunities a virus has to spread, the more it replicates – and the more opportunities it has to undergo changes. Most viral mutations have little to no impact on the virus’s ability to cause infections and disease. But depending on where the changes are located in the virus’s genetic material, they may affect a virus’s properties, such as transmission. These vaccines are currently in development or have been approved are expected to provide at least some protection against new virus variants because these vaccines elicit a broad immune response involving a range of antibodies and cells. Therefore, changes or mutations in the virus should not make vaccines completely ineffective. Information continues to be collected and analyzed on new variants of the virus. The WHO is working with researchers, health officials and scientists to understand how these variants affect the virus’s behavior, including their impact on the effectiveness of vaccines, if any. In addition, manufacturers and the program using the vaccines may have to adjust to the evolution of the COVID-19 virus: for example, vaccines may need to incorporate more than one strain when in development, booster shots may be required, and other vaccine changes may be needed. Trials must also be designed and maintained to allow any changes in efficacy to be assessed, and must be of sufficient scale and diversity to enable clear interpretation of results. The WHO has been tracking mutations and variants since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak. Our global SARS-CoV-2 laboratory network includes a dedicated Virus Evolution Working Group, which aims to detect new changes quickly and assess their possible impact. Experts have carried out genomic sequencing of the COVID-19 virus and shared these sequences on public databases, including GISAID. The WHO has also established a SARS-CoV-2 Risk Monitoring and Evaluation Framework to identify, monitor and assess variants of concern. It will involve components like surveillance, research on variants of concern, and evaluation of the impact on diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines. Incumbent measures to reduce transmission – including frequent hand washing, wearing a mask, physical distancing, good ventilation and avoiding crowded places or closed settings – continue to work against new variants by reducing the amount of viral transmission and therefore also reducing opportunities for the virus to mutate.
Preparedness for Vaccines
Most of the nations have now started to deploy vaccines, bring new hope to the fight against the global pandemic. the WHO, UNICEF, Gavi and many other partners are working together to support countries in preparing for COVID-19 vaccine introduction. These organizations have provided a vaccine introduction toolbox that has all the resources a country needs to get ready for delivering these vaccines. Altogether 92 low- and middleincome economies will be able to access COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX Facility Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
The COVAX AMC is the innovative financing instrument that will support the participation of 92 low- and middleincome economies in the COVAX Facility – enabling access to donor-funded doses of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines. The AMC, combined with additional support for country readiness and delivery, will make sure the most vulnerable in all countries can be protected in the short term, regardless of income level. These AMC92 countries must develop a COVID-19 National Deployment and Vaccination Plans (NDVPs) which is reviewed by WHO, UNICEF and other partners to help the country be sure the plan is as good as it can be. NDVPs can be submitted through the Partners Platform. Once a country's NDVP is reviewed to ensure the key readiness criteria are met, they can be allocated
vaccines through the COVAX Facility. Non-AMC countries are also welcome to submit their NDVP for review and receive feedback to strengthen their plan. A National Deployment and Vaccination Plan is an operational plan to implement and monitor COVID-19 vaccination rollout in a country. The NDVP serves as the “one-country plan” and main framework for a country’s vaccine introduction and vaccination efforts. Regulatory preparedness: legal requirements for importing vaccines, regulatory authorization for using vaccines, and procedures to expedite vaccine availability, Planning and coordination: governance and management structure at both country and sub-national levels to oversee the deployment, implementation and monitoring of COVID-19 vaccines. Costing and funding: a realistic budget – including funding sources and budget gaps – for vaccine deployment and vaccination. Supply chain and health care waste management: critical supply chain activities to prepare for vaccine deployment and to ensure safe handling of health care waste. Human resources management and training: staff requirements for the vaccine rollout and a plan for training and supervision: Vaccine acceptance and demand: Integrated approaches to achieve high uptake of COVID-19 vaccines, including strategic communication activities that promote vaccination, manage misinformation and convey risk in the event of any adverse effects. Vaccine safety: steps to prepare for, monitor and address vaccine safety and potential adverse events and ensure injection safety. Immunization monitoring: a strategy for collection and reporting of immunization data, disease surveillance to monitor vaccine impact, and evaluation of the overall implementation process.
Developing an NDVP helps countries prepare for COVID-19 vaccination, identify resource needs and streamline the process for introducing vaccines. Once an NDVP is developed, countries work on its implementation, including the detailed planning of vaccine delivery strategies, logistics, HR and funding mobilization. A review process has been set up to provide support and feedback to countries for improving and finalizing their plans. This ensures that a country’s NDVP includes the necessary elements to rapidly deploy vaccines and implement COVID-19 vaccination, and that any recommendations for improvement are addressed. Once an AMC92 participant submits its NDVP, a Regional Review Committee (RRC) assesses the plan and evaluates country preparedness and capacity for vaccine allocation, deployment and administration.
Efforts Needed for Fair and Impartial Distribution
With the entire planet continues to witness the woes of the deadly Coronavirus pandemic, different questions are now being raised regarding availabilities and allocation of the vaccines for the needy persons. It is being highlighted that whether these vaccines would be accessible to the common masses in days to come. Besides, the WHO begin to chalk out its plan for vaccination drives. For accessibility, the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) Facility has been set up by the WHO in collaboration with the ACT-Accelerator vaccine partners. The efficient vaccines can seek several years to develop or more to reach out the needy persons. Plans are being chalked out on potential coronavirus vaccines follows the same processes as with other vaccines. This timeline may be accelerated by the COVAX Facility by enabling early investments in the growth of a variety of vaccine for candidates. Increasing productions of vaccine ahead of the licensing process for deploying the vaccine without delayed. The actual motive of the WHO is quick allocations of vaccine, protecting individuals, improving health systems and minimizing the impact on the economy. Meanwhile, the ACT-Accelerator was set up to contain the Coronavirus pandemic faster and more proficiently by ensuring high quality diagnostics, vaccines and treatments across the globe. The impartial allocation of the vaccine is important. In case the these vaccines are perfectly used one can escape from any acute consequences of the pandemic.
However, the sources and resources have remained inadequate. Hence, the governments will have to prioritize immunization program for specific groups. In order to check severe spread of the
A review process has been set up to provide support and feedback to countries for improving and finalizing their plans
disease, deaths or protect health systems, It is very important for the authorities offer the vaccine first to the priority groups. Utmost needy person or the definition of the priority groups must be based on extensive analysis of evidence, including differences across various geographical and social set ups. The various countries, especially those are members of the COVAX Facility must have access to adequate vaccines to fulfill the need of their priority group citizens. As such, selecting to set an initial prioritization for health workers, the WHO is willing to make sure that it can meet the need of majorities of health and social care workers. On the other hands, when most of the countries are allocated enough doses for 20 per cent of the population, the remaining doses should be made available with the availability of funds. As such, in the second phase, the places that have received extra doses of vaccine would be determined by an assessment of their risk at any given time. Every consideration will be based on an assessment of threat & vulnerability. The actual, analysis would find out the countries with the highest risk that will get vaccines with faster pace. Some doses of vaccine may be asked to be reserved as part of a ‘humanitarian buffer’. The governments as well as the states are encouraged to add all high-risk individuals and populations.
The concerned world authority, particularly the WHO secretariat recognizes the right of each country to take decision on what ground or the fixed criteria they would use the vaccine in their territory. Noticeably, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts is the principal advisory group to guide the countries when in need.
Vaccines and Kinds
More than 200 vaccine candidates for the deadly coronavirus were developed till the end of December 2020. However, almost 52 candidate vaccines were involved in human trials. Many of these are still in different phases. Characteristically, various such vaccine candidates are being evaluated before any are being seen to be safe and effective. Most of the vaccines that are studied in the lab and laboratory animals, roughly 7 out of every 100 would be considered good enough to move into clinical trials in humans. With a lot of different vaccines in growing positions, the chances that there will be one or more successful vaccines will be shown to be safe and efficient. In fact, there are three main ways design a vaccine. The differences are found in whether they use a whole virus or bacterium. The first method to make a vaccine is to take the disease-carrying virus or bacterium or a very similar to it, and inactivate or kill it using. This approach uses technology that’s been proven to work in people – this is the way the flu and polio vaccines are made – and vaccines can be manufactured on a reasonable scale. It all needs special laboratory facilities to develop the virus or bacterium effectively. It could have comparatively long production time & will require two or three doses.
These kinds of vaccines can be used safely to deliver specific sub-parts, In order to do this; the directives for making particular parts of the pathogen of interest are put in a safe virus. Then, the safe virus acts as a platform or vector to deliver the protein into the body. The protein triggers the immune response. The Ebola vaccine is a viral vector vaccine and this type can be developed rapidly. The sub-unit vaccine is only that which can be used as the very specific parts of a virus or bacterium that the immune system needs to identify. It does not comprise the entire microbe or use a safe virus as a vector. Some of these vaccines on the childhood schedule are subunit vaccines, protecting people from diseases such as whooping cough, tetanus, diphtheria and meningococcal. Contrasting to the vaccine approaches which use either a poor or dead of the entire microbe or parts, a nucleic acid vaccine just uses a section of genetic material that offers the directions for particular proteins, not the entire microbe. The DNA and RNA are the instructions our cells use to make proteins. A nucleic acid vaccine delivers a particular set of directions to all cells, either as DNA or mRNA, for them to ensure the particular kind of protein. It may be termed as a new way of developing vaccines. Before the Coronavirus pandemic, no body went through the full approvals process for use in humans, though some DNA vaccines, including for particular cancers, were undergoing human trials. Due to the pandemic, research in this area has progressed very fast and some mRNA vaccines for COVID-19 are getting emergency use permission.
Every vaccine should go through extensive & rigorous testing to ensure that it is safe prior introducing them in the vaccine program of any country
The Way Vaccines Are Developed
The COVID-19 vaccines contain various small quantities of the disease-causing organism or other such ingredients. Besides, ingredients that can keep the vaccine safe and effective are also found. The vaccine constituent meets specific purpose and every element in the vaccine is tested during the manufacturing process. Antigen, an active component is found in the vaccine. This antigen generates an immune response for creating the active component. These antigens may be a small part of the diseasecausing organism including: protein or others. Additive checks the vaccine from contamination. Sections of vaccines do not have additive compounds as they are stored in one-dose vials & are stopped after administering the single dose. Apart from others, 2-phenoxyethanol is the most widely used preservative. This is being used for many years in various vaccines.
Mostly the stabilizers check chemical reactions from causing within the vaccine and keep its components from gluing into the vaccine vial. Sugars, amino acids, gelatin and proteins are among others in which these stabilizers are often found. The experts use Surfactants to keep all the ingredients in the vaccine blended together, these Surfactants usually prevent settling and clumping of elements which are found in the liquid form of the vaccine. This apart, some residuals are also used during manufacturing of vaccines. It traces those substances that may be present in a vaccine in very small quantities. Sections of vaccines also contain adjuvants that often improve the immune response to the vaccine through various means. It may be a tiny amount of aluminium salts that has been shown not to cause any long-term health problems and humans.
Various kinds vaccines are in use for many years. Every vaccine should go through extensive & rigorous testing to ensure that it is safe prior introducing them in the vaccine program of any country. Most of the countries that are still in process to develop vaccine should initially undergo screenings and then evaluations to confirm about the kind of antigen should be used to raise an immune response. The initial phase is done without testing on humans. Vaccines in experimental processes are initially tested in animals to evaluate its safety & potential meant to prevent disease. When these vaccines trigger an immune response, it is then tested in human clinical trials in almost three phases. These are: The vaccine is given to a small number of volunteers to assess its safety. Normally, in the very first
phase vaccines are tested in young, healthy adult volunteers. Second, it is given to several hundred volunteers to further assess its safety and ability to generate an immune response. There are normally multiple trials in this phase to evaluate various age groups and different formulations of the vaccine. Consequently, during the very third phase, the vaccine is administered to thousands of volunteers – and compared to a similar group of people who did not get the vaccine. Every time, phase three trials are conducted across multiple countries and multiple sites within a country to confirm the findings of the vaccine performance pertaining to different populations.
Amid phase – 2 and 3 trials, the activists & the research experts pursuing these studies are shielded from knowing which volunteers had received the vaccine being tested. It may be termed as ‘blinding’ & is important to assure that neither the volunteers nor the research experts are influenced in their assessment of safety or effectiveness. Soon after, the trial ends and the entire results are finalized, the volunteers and the trial scientists are asked acknowledged. As soon as the results of all these clinical trials are made available, various steps are required, like: reviews of efficacy and safety. The authorities in each country closely watch the study data & decide whether to authorize the vaccine for use their country. The monitoring occurs in an active way after the introduction of the vaccine. It all enables the experts to keep record of vaccine impact and safety even as they are used in a large number of people, over a long period of time. These data are used to adjust the policies for vaccine.
Mode of Functioning
As a person is vulnerable and he or she encounters a harmful organism, it can causes disease and in some cases death. Human bodies have various ways protect it’self from pathogens. Mucus, skin, and cilia, all work as physical barriers to prevent pathogens from entering the body in the first place. When a pathogen gets infected the body, it protects the defending walls of our body, these walls are called the immune system. Noticeably, a pathogen is a bacterium, virus, parasite or fungus, which may led to disease in our body. Pathogen comprised of several subparts, usually unique to that specific pathogen. The subpart of a pathogen that causes the formation of antibodies may be termed as antigen. The antibodies produced in response to the antigen of pathogen are an necessary part of the immune system. One can see antibodies as the soldiers in your body’s defense system. Human bodies have thousands of different antibodies in their bodies. As a human body is exposed to an antigen for the first time, it takes time for the immune system to respond and produce antibodies for particular antigen.
When the antigen-specific antibodies are produced, these work with the rest of the immune system to destroy the pathogen and prevent the spread of disease. The antibodies to one pathogen generally do not keep us safe from another pathogen except when two pathogens are very similar to each other. When the human body produces antibodies in its primary response to an antigen, it also creates antibodyproducing memory cells. When the human body is exposed to the same pathogen more than once, the antibody response is much faster & more effective than the first time. It means that when a human being is exposed to the dangerous pathogen in the future, his immune system will be able to respond immediately and will protect him from the disease.
Significantly, vaccines comprise weakened or inactive parts of a particular organism, which may trigger an immune response within the body. Comparatively, new vaccines comprise the blueprint for producing antigens rather than the antigen itself. Few vaccines need multiple doses, given weeks or months. Sometimes, it is required to allow for the production of long-lived antibodies and development of memory cells. As such, the human body is trained to prevent the specific diseasecausing organism.
Herd immunity
As an individual is vaccinated, he or she is very close to get protections from the prevalent disease. Individuals having essential health conditions, which weaken their immune systems or those having serious allergies to some vaccine components cannot be able
The reason that causes a virus to change to a new variant is widely circulating in a population and causing many infections, the likelihood of the virus mutating increases
Every vaccine should go through extensive & rigorous testing to ensure that it is safe prior introducing them in the vaccine program of any country
to be vaccinated with particular vaccines. But no doubt, these kinds of persons can also be protected. As a lot of persons in a community are vaccinated, the pathogen has a hard time circulating as most of the people it encounters are immune. And hence, when others are vaccinated, there are very less chances that those failed to get the vaccines are at risk of even being exposed to the injurious pathogens. It may be termed as herd immunity. It is significant for those could not be vaccinated but may be more vulnerable to the diseases. Even not a single vaccine offers 100 per cent safety and the herd immunity do not offers complete safety to those cannot be vaccinated safely. With herd immunity, sections of people will have considerable safety. It must be understood that vaccinating does not only protects one but also protects all those in the community and are not able to be vaccinated. Right from the beginning, human beings have truly invented vaccines for the various life-threatening diseases like: meningitis, tetanus, measles and wild poliovirus. During the early 1900s, polio was a worldwide disease, paralysing hundreds of thousands of people every year. But during the 1950, two effective vaccines against the disease were introduced.
Safety & Quality Maintenance
After required clinical trials, when a vaccine reaches at the pre-approval stage, the relevant regulatory body use to assess the facts to know the fulfillment with quality, safety and efficiency. Soon after the approval, the vaccine sent for manufacturing. The regulatory body also uses to submit a vaccine to the WHO for prequalification (PQ). Amid the global health emergencies, the EUL can be used to allow the use of the vaccine in crisis. It exists as products that could benefit the lives of people may be prevented from coming to market with sufficient speed. The WHO PQ/EUL recognitions can be used by the United Nation organizations like: UNICEF and the Pan American Health Organization Revolving Fund for procurement. Characteristically, companies can work freely to fulfill the clinical growth plans for a vaccine. When a vaccine is approved, its manufacturing starts at large. The entire procedure from preclinical trial to manufacturing may take over a decade to complete process. During the search for a Coronavirus vaccine, the scientists and academicians worked for the various phases in parallel to find a quick result. As the vaccine made in bulk quantities, it was carefully packaged in glass vials for further storage and transportations.
Noticeably, the vaccine packaging should be packed in such a ways that it can survive extreme temperatures and cover high risks during transportations. Majorities of vaccines need refrigerated storage between 2 to 8 °C. While, few of these need temperatures as cold as -20°C, others require to be kept ultra cold at -70°C. In order to maintain the cold chain, these vaccines are transported with the help of specialized devices which does not compromise the quality of the product. When shipments land in the specific location, refrigerated lorries use to transport them from the airport to the cold room of warehouse. When vaccinations take place beyond the defined facility, the last step almost needed portable iceboxes to transport the goods. Fresh technologies have invented sections of moveable equipments that may hold the vaccines at their cold temperature for several days. As the vaccines are administered, the authorities of particular country and the WHO intensively monitor the entire processes. The actual significance of the vaccine is its safety and efficacy.
IT’S ALL ABOUT PANDEMIC & EPIDEMIC INTELLIGENCE
The World Health Organization (WHO), in association with the Germany’s Federal Republic has set up a fresh center for pandemic and epidemic intelligence. Besides it would concentrate on data collections, surveillance and the innovations of analytics. Based in Berlin & functioning with partners around the world, it would lead fresh inventions for data analytics in the huge network of world level data prediction, prevention, and detection and prepare for and respond to pandemic and epidemic risks across the globe. After getting lessons from present pandemic, we have learnt news ways to fight with the deadly coronavirus pandemic and epidemics together. It would be a world level platform to check the pandemic.
The WHO has now chosen Berlin as its mainland and invited partners from across the globe to render their service for WHO center. This center for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence is the part of the Health Emergencies Program of WHO. Besides, it would be a new alliance of different nations & partners across the globe driving inventions to enlarge the accessibility and connection of varied data, increase devices and prognostic models for risk analysis. Apart from these all, it will also help regulate measures to check the disease, wholesome accessibility & infodemics. Significantly, this centre would help the work of public health experts and
policy-makers in all the nations with impending for taking rapid decisions to check and counter to future emergences related to public health. The German Minister of Health, Jens Spahn said, “It’s now very important for us to know and identify the risk due to the pandemic & epidemic. And hence, for these all one must require to make the global early warning surveillance system stronger so that these could collect more quickly and prepare the health related analysis on quick basis”. Noticeably, Germany has constantly been dedicated to assist the work of the WHO, especially in pursuing any important related to health emergencies. Besides, the WHO Hub is a concrete step which may turn the entire world in safer mode.
To work in association with collaborators on world level, the WHO Hub will make a scale-up in improvement for the incumbent forecasting & recent warning capability in WHO or the member states. In the mean time, this hub would take momentum with worldwide alliances especially in the public and private sector organizations, institutions and multinational allies. It all will help them alliance re-create the important devises to administrate & analyze the data for quick warning monitoring systems. Another significant chapter of the pandemic period is that the entire world requires an important jump ahead especially in data analysis so that it could help the leaders pass the information for public health decisions. It all needs controlling the intensity of well=developed technologies like: artificial intelligence that has come up with joint varied data sources. This is also collaborating across many fold disciplines.
Ghebreyesus Praise US Temprament On Intellectual Property Rights
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the WHO Director-General has appreciated the dedication of the US Administration under newly elected President, Joe Biden, & the VP, Kamala Harris. He specially showed his gratitude for helping the impermanent renounces of the intellectual property on the vaccines of the deadly coronavirus in a strong step to end the pandemic in the most possible period. Ghebreyesus said that the promises by the US President, Joe Biden, and his Ambassador, Katherine Tai, the Trade Representative to help the waiver of IP protections on vaccines was a strong example of the US leadership for resolving worldwide health challenges. He said that the US would on its historic decision for impartiality of the vaccines & prioritizing the well-being of all people. All should move with each other strongly to defy the challenges.
Meanwhile, Tai issued a statement saying that an unusual situation occurred due to coronavirus pandemic need special action to resolve the surrendering of intellectual property security on vaccines was required to assist checking the pandemic. the US will take part in the WTO discussions meant to assist the none-permanent surrendering of securities and work with the private sector. “The assistance of the White House for the none-permanent surrendering of intellectual property on the deadly coronavirus vaccines shows the understanding & moral leadership of the US to work on drawing the pandemic towards closing stages. These are the facts that we should think during the Administration of the President, Joe Biden”, he added.
ACT-Accelerator
The WHO, in associations with its close associates had in April 2020 launched the ACT-Accelerator. It helps the fastest, most coordinated & successful worldwide efforts in history to growth of devices to meant to defy the pandemic. The private organizations and government, with important development in study & growth by the academic classes, stepped up saying that the ACT-Accelerator is on the cusp of ensuring the path to check the severe phase of the pandemic by organize experiment, treatment and vaccinations that the entire world needed.
COVAX – Worldwide Impartial Admittance to the Vaccines
As the pandemic is moving so fast all around the world, no one is safe until and unless every is vaccinated. The COVAX is jointly -led by CEPI, Gavi and WHO, along with the most important issuing partner, the UNICEF. The PAHO Revolving Fund is known as the procurement factor for the COVAX In the Americas.
