As the Centre is all set to roll out the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16, Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan took to Twitter to bust some myths about the COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday.
Side effects of the vaccine
Just like any other vaccine, COVID-19 vaccine too may have side effects that are expected to go away on their own in some time. Dr Vardhan said, "After being administered #COVID19Vaccine, some individuals may have side effects like mild fever, pain at injection site & bodyache. This is similar to the side effects that occur post some other vaccines. These are expected to go away on their own after some time."
Can one get infected with the virus after the shot?
Dr Vardhan said, "You cannot contract #COVID19 because you have been inoculated with a #COVID19Vaccine Temporary side effects such as mild fever should not be confused as having contracted #COVID."
Can the vaccine cause infertility in women and men?
There is no scientific evidence to suggest that #COVIDVaccine could cause infertility in either men or women. Kindly do not pay heed to such rumours or information from unverified sources, Dr Vardhan said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch India's COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 via video conferencing and adequate doses of the two made-in-India vaccines have been delivered to all states and Union Territories, the government said on Thursday.
This will be the world's largest vaccination programme covering the entire length and breadth of the country and all preparations are in place to initiate the programme on the principles of 'Jan Bhagidari', the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement.
Prime Minister Modi will launch the pan-India rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 at 10:30 AM via video conferencing, the PMO said.
The full initial procurement of 1.65 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines -- Covishield and Covaxin-- has been allocated to all states and UTs in proportion to their healthcare workers database.
According to the government, the shots will be offered first to an estimated one crore healthcare workers, and around two crore frontline workers, and then to persons above 50 years of age, followed by persons younger than 50 years of age with associated comorbidities.
Cost of vaccination of healthcare and frontline workers will be borne by the central government.
