Vijayawada: After the successful conclusion of the first phase of vaccination drive Manipal Hospitals, Vijayawada, is gearing up for the second phase which commenced for all the healthcare workers. During the first phase, a total number of 800 doctors and staff, i.e. 98% of the staff, were vaccinated over the course of 8 days, which is the highest number of staff to be vaccinated in and around Vijayawada and Guntur region.

Speaking on the commencement of the second phase, Dr. Sudhakar Kantipudi, Hospital Director – Manipal Hospital, Vijayawada, said “The COVID vaccine was welcomed with a lot of hope and trepidation. While the population was excited at the prospect of a cure, the fast tracked processes and the lack of clear information on trials created an uncertainty which was fueled by ill-informed rumors. The vaccination has been tested for all the clinical trials – phase 1, 2 and 3. All the safety measures, and protocols have been taken before rolling out the vaccination. The misconceptions and rumors triggered vaccine hesitancy among people. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the support of the Government of Andhra Pradesh and DMHO, Guntur for their immense support and proactive-ness in facilitating the vaccination drive. I would strongly urge the people to come forward to take the vaccine and to not believe in any such myths or rumors as it is very safe.”

Adding to this, Dr. Ch. Manoj Kumar – Chief of Clinical Services & Consultant General Medicine, Manipal Hospital, said “While the vaccination was being rolled out in January 2021, a lot of misconceptions and rumors were doing rounds which made people skeptical about it. I would like to take this opportunity and appeal to people to not believe in any kind of misconceptions or rumors. For example, misconceptions like – Consumption of alcohol is forbidden and poisonous when vaccinated (The purpose of vaccine is to boost immunity by producing antibodies and alcohol beats the whole purpose of vaccination.  That being the case, it is advised to not consume alcohol in large amounts or indulge in binge drinking), Since pregnant and lactating women can’t be vaccinated, there must be something wrong with the vaccine (Pregnant and lactating women were not included in the clinical trials; hence it is not advisable for them to take the vaccination. This restriction does not correlate with the quality of the vaccine), or What’s the whole point of vaccines if it can’t be injected when we are actually COVID positive? (A COVID positive person was not included in the clinical trials, and hence they are not included. Recovery from COVID should give them immunization for 3 months. Thus, COVID positive people should avoid the vaccine for a minimum of 4-8 weeks, post recovering from COVID), etc. Such vague misconceptions should not be believed and people should come forward to take the vaccine. Also, vaccination and protection against COVID go hand in hand, people must wear masks and use sanitizers even after being vaccinated.”