India has entered the third phase of Covid vaccination under which everyone above 18 can get a vaccine jab. However, to get your vaccine jab, you need to register yourself on the official website of CoWIN ( https://www.cowin.gov.in/ ). There are a lot of people who are afraid of getting vaccinated but let us tell you that you are just increasing your chances of getting infected with Coronavirus by not taking the jab. Here in this blog, we are going to give you all the information about the Covid vaccines available in India and their benefits, side effects and more.
Types of Covid Vaccines
There are 4 types of Covid vaccines – Whole Virus, Protein Subunit, Viral Vector And Nucleic Acid (RNA and DNA). All are seeking to do the same – immunity to the virus, and some may even avoid transmission. This is done by triggering an immune response to a virus antigen, a molecule found in the virus.
Currently, in India, people are getting Covidshield and Covaxin jab. These two vaccines are safe and effective. Here is more detail about Covishield and Covaxin.
Details about CoviShield
l Ingredients used on CoviShield are – Magnesium chloride hexahydrate, Sodium chloride, Polysorbate 80, L-Histidine, L- Histidine hydrochloride monohydrate, Ethanol, Sucrose and Disodium edetate dihydrate (EDTA), the SII described.
- The second dose will be given between four and six weeks after getting the first dose, SII said.
- Covishield is manufactured in India by the Pune’s Serum Institute and is developed by Oxford University in collaboration with AstraZeneca
- Covishield is prepared using an entirely different viral vector platform.
- A chimpanzee adenovirus – ChAdOx1 – was modified to enable the spike protein of COVID-19 to be transported to human cells. The cold virus cannot basically infect the recipient but can teach the immune system to prepare a mechanism against such viruses.
- Covishield comprises two doses with total effectiveness of 70 per cent, but if given half a dose and a whole one month later it will exceed 90 per cent.
Side effects of COVISHIELD
Four in one people experience mild side effects from the Covishield vaccine which include headache, fatigue, and tenderness. Systematic effects include chills, shiver, headache, fatigue, diarrhoea, fever, arthralgia, myalgia, and nausea.
Local side effect – In the arm, you may experience pain at the site of injection, swelling, tenderness, redness, itch, warmth and swollen armpit glands.
The manufacturer said the vaccine had a slight risk of causing a serious allergic reaction. Signs of a serious negative event include difficulty in breathing, swelling of face and throat, fast heartbeat, rashes all over the body, dizziness and weakness.
Details about COVAXIN
COVAXIN is India’s indigenous COVID-19 vaccine that is developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech International Limited in cooperation with the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) – National Institute of Virology.
It is included along with the vaccine adjuvants, immune potentiators which are applied to the vaccine to enhance its immunogenicity.
Two Covaxin jabs are mandatory. In a period of 4 to 6 weeks after the first jab, the second jab must be taken.
Covaxin is an inactivated vaccine prepared on a tried and tested platform of dead viruses.
The second interim study showed 78% effectiveness and is claimed to be 100% effective against severe COVID-19 disease.
It contains 6µg of whole-virion inactivated SARS-CoV-2 antigen (Strain: NIV-2020-770), and the other inactive ingredients such as aluminium hydroxide gel (250 µg), TLR 7/8 agonist (imidazoquinolinone) 15 µg, 2-phenoxyethanol 2.5 mg, and phosphate buffer saline up to 0.5 ml.
Side effects of COVAXIN
Side effects that have been reported by the people who have taken Covaxin Jan are Injection site pain / Swelling / Redness / Itching, Headache, Fever, Malaise/body ache, Nausea, Vomiting and Rashes.
Things you should mention to your vaccine provider
You should tell your vaccine provider that, you –
- Are on regular medication for any disease, for how long and for which condition.
- Have any allergies
- Have fever
- Are on a blood thinner
- Have a bleeding disorder or
- Are on a medicine or immunocompromised that affects your immune system
- Are pregnant
- Are breastfeeding
- Have received another COVID-19 vaccine
- Have damaged organs
Vaccines Are a Safer Way To Stay Protected Against Covid-19
Covid-19 is a serious disease and the recent variant is life-threatening. If you get infected with Coronavirus, you might spread the disease to friends, family, and other people around you. Covid-19 vaccines, Covishield and Covaix are clinically safe and effective. These vaccines provide you protection by boosting your natural immunity. The risk of severe illness and death decreases after taking covid-19 vaccine jab. Masks and 6 metres of distance minimise the chances of exposure to the virus, but these precautions are not enough. The vaccines interact with the immune system to boost its power to fight the virus if you are exposed. There are growing reports that fully vaccinated individuals are less susceptible to illness without symptoms (called asymptomatic infection) and less likely to transmit the COVID-19 virus to others. Further research is underway. You will begin doing certain stuff that you have not been doing because of the pandemic after you’ve been completely vaccinated for COVID-19. For example, with other fully vaccinated citizens, you can gather indoors without masks and enjoy your time. Individuals are not considered completely vaccinated until they get their second dose. You should continue to use all the tools to prevent the spread of coronavirus until you are fully vaccinated.
Final words
After battling with the coronavirus for a year, vaccines have finally arrived. Vaccines are our only hope to get rid of this notorious virus. People above 18 are eligible to take the coronavirus vaccine. Receive both the jabs of covid vaccine to stay safe from life-threatening coronavirus. Once you get fully vaccinated, you can meet with other friends and relatives who have also been vaccinated without wearing a mask. The vaccine is the final step to break the chain of coronavirus and get back to a more normal way of life.