New Delhi: Emphasising that Indian vaccines can work well against all variants of Covid19, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Thursday appealed to people to maintain Covid appropriate behavior.
The IMA also said that there is no need of taking a fourth dose of Covid vaccine at present. "Nobody knows which variant of Covid will affect the community in India. Earlier, we have seen that many variants which were severe in other countries but were not severe in India. It's a viral mutation strain and it's always evolving," said IMA president Dr Sharad Kumar Agarwal in an exclusive interview to ETV Bharat.
Agarwal, who took charge as IMA president in December last, said that Indian vaccines are good because of which the severity of mutations was minimum. "We need to maintain Covid appropriate behavior. If there is any gathering, people should always use masks. And if somebody has any health issue, they should always avoid crowded places," said Dr Agarwal while highlighting the IMA advisory in view of the new variants of Covid19.
Stating that Covid is an infectious disease, Dr. Agarwal said, "Infection can definitely spread. But, at present, we don't know how infectious it is." He also said that India managed all three previous outbreaks of Covid very successfully. "We are well equipped now and we can definitely handle the situation," Dr. Agarwal said.
He said that private hospitals are ready to extend cooperation to the government to manage any possible outbreak. "IMA assured that our 4 lakh doctors are fully prepared to help the government in all eventualities. The newly approved nasal vaccine is a step in the right direction and we assure the government that our members, in each nook and corner of the country, will support this vaccination program," Dr. Agarwal said.
