It is learned that more than 8,000 people were inoculated during the “Tika Utsav”, a vaccination drive that commenced in the state on Sunday. More than 4,000 people were vaccinated across 16 panchayats. This is a good development as it shows that more and more people are coming forward to take the jab. However, there could be a flip side to it. Those who have taken the vaccine could be under the false impression that they are now protected from the virus and could go on with their daily activities without adhering to the pandemic-related protocol. They could be moving about without the mandatory mask, not maintaining social distancing nor using the sanitiser. This behavior could put these people more at risk of being infected. It is understood that even a person who has taken the second dose of the vaccine needs to wait for two months to get immunity. Even then the vaccine may not give one total protection but reduce the symptoms and prevent fatality.
Hence following the SOPs of ‘SMS’ namely “Social Distancing, Mask and Sanitisation” need to be followed even after vaccination. It should become a way of life as long as the pandemic prevails. It would be desirable to sensitise all those who take the first dose of the vaccine on this matter. People could be under the wrong impression that the vaccine is a cure for the coronavirus infection. This thought process needs to be done away with.
