Medical officers in Chittoor district, who conducted a study on the efficacy of the COVID vaccine at various COVID hospitals and COVID Care Centres, observed that of the 700-plus positive cases studied, only three patients who took two doses of vaccine were found to be infected with the virus.
Deputy District Medical and Health Officer (Deputy DMHO) P. Ravi Raju and pulmonologist in the Government Hospital, Puttur, P. Amarnatha Reddy told The Hindu that close to 80% of the COVID positive cases which had surfaced in the second wave were of people who were not vaccinated even once.
The officials said that among those who took the first dose of vaccine, it was observed that they were infected within a few days after vaccination. Those who had completed a regimen of more than a month in the first dose and a couple of weeks after the second dose were found to be “absolutely safe” from the virus.
The medical officers observed that the COVID positive patients who took the two doses remained mostly asymptomatic at the COVID Care Centres. “None of them had developed any serious complications. Almost all of them had approached us for early discharge, or with a request to allow them to do some voluntary work in the COVID centres. However, due to COVID rules, they were restricted to isolation,” Dr. Ravi Raju said.
The officials said that certain sections of people still had apprehensions about the COVID vaccine, and such segments should immediately shed their doubts and come to the vaccination centres.
“In the second wave, it is further found that some medical and paramedical staff and sanitation staff were infected not at the COVID hospitals or centres, but due to the contacts at home and at public places. COVID safety norms such as wearing N-95 masks and using sanitisers were found to be extraordinarily helpful in keeping the institutional virus spread at bay,” Dr. Amarnath said.
In view of the threat of a third wave, the medical officials said that the ongoing campaign to promote compulsory wearing of face masks and observing physical distance would be intensified. “Since a few days, there is a mood of relaxation in the public, who are found not wearing face masks and not maintaining physical distance. These practices against COVID norms should be tackled immediately,” DR. Amarnath added.
