Dear District Governors ,Greetings to you All .
To Vaccinate or Not – that is not the question today. ‘COVID 19 cases are climbing in eight States’ is the big headline in the national newspapers today. The report states Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu cumulatively account for 86.25% of the cases in India.
Nearly 17 lakhs Covid vaccine doses were given on March 8, 2021, making it the highest single-day coverage since the beginning of the programme in January 2021, 2.26 crore doses have been administered so far. This is a good sign.
Reports have been published that the Government of Tamil Nadu has started a vaccine awareness drive in Chennai. I compliment Rotary clubs in RI District 3232 who have tied up with hospitals to help Rotarians and their eligible family members to get vaccinated. Many clubs have reported setting up of facilities to help people to get registered for vaccination. Vaccine awareness rallies have also been held by Rotary in District 3132 ,3030 and 3110. I hope more Districts will join the advocacy task and help the public to get the jab.
Rotarians must remove doubts in the minds of educated people about the safety of the vaccines and tell them not fall into the trap of fake news and unscientific reports that appear in various social media. I was also surprised to hear that some people in India are waiting for the certification from Food and Drug Administration, USA, for the roll out of the much publicized single-dose Covid vaccine from Johnson & Johnson which is still in its clinical trial stage. Any vaccine that is certified is welcome, but a bird in hand is worth two in the bush, as the saying goes and with vaccines available in our country we can stop the spread of Covid, especially among the elderly people. Even if FDA grants an ‘emergency use authorisation’ for the single-dose vaccine what is the guarantee it will be made available here?
Misunderstanding of the term ‘Comorbidities’ has led to vaccination hesitancy. Till the Covid vaccines were rolled out, I had not heard of this terminology and found out that many people have also not heard about this. Today, everyone is talking about comorbidity. The medical definition of the term comorbidity, which is normally used only by medical practitioners in their profession, is when a person has more than one under-lying health conditions present in them at once. Comorbidities can be present in the form of physical or mental conditions according to certified medical literatures. It is imperative that people with comorbidities take the vaccine and this has to be emphasized.
So, promote vaccination in your area. Support the government in its endeavors to fight against COVID-19 and Save the people. Service is our work and Service Above Self is our motto .