Covid-19 vaccination update: IMA extends support to drive; urges all members to promote vaccine

Covid-19 Vaccine India Update: As India rolls out its nationwide Covid-19 immunisation drive, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has urged its 3.5 lakh members at 1,800 branches to promote the vaccination drive that will be the road to recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

Talking to the Indian Express, IMA national president Dr JA Jayalal said that IMA has always promoted the importance of preventive medicines like vaccination for building immunity towards disease and they want to do the same with Covid-19 vaccination drive. IMA has been involved through its members in giving professional expertise to the administration during Covid-19 active phases, he further added.

Dr Jayesh Lele, honorary secretary-general at IMA HQ informed that IMA has lost 732 doctors while on duty in India’s battle against Covid-19. He said that doctors performed their duties fearlessly when the entire nation was in mass quarantine. He also urged citizens to not get misled by rumours that are making rounds on social media platforms against vaccination. The public should be aware of the basic facts like vaccines build immunity and decrease chances of contracting illness, he added.

Accepting the challenge of successfully implementing and taking forward the vaccination drive, he said that every IMA member across India will assist in the immunisation programme but public awareness should be a natural responsibility. IMA further appealed to citizens that even after vaccination they should adhere to Covid-19 protocols like wearing a mask and maintaining social distance.

“IMA through its all professionals shall provide the righteous & scientific information to people across the country. We appeal to all IMA members to design the mechanisms to promote the vaccine. We also suggest reaching out to maximum public forums, social media, media to increase awareness about the vaccine. All members shall be vaccinated and lead this mission by example.” said IMA’s official statement

Meanwhile, a group of scientists has expressed their concern about the Drugs Controller General of India’s approval of vaccination campaigns and the little information available in them on the public domains. Partha P Majumder of the National Institute of Biomedical Genomics, Kalyani highlighted the requirement of essential safeguards before releasing the vaccine to the public.

A statement issued by over 15 senior scientists demanded transparency over the vaccine programme especially for Covaxin as no adequate information about its phase 3 trial and efficacy data is available in the public domain. Although appreciating Bharat Biotech and ICMR’s efforts in formulation a vaccine, the statement said that relevant data about larger phase 3 trials should be made available before the vaccination drive commences for the general public.