The Coronavirus has ravaged the world in just one year with 92 million cases and two million deaths. Like all viral diseases, it has no cure, although several experimental – and expensive - drugs are being trialled. But the best hope against any viral disease is a vaccine, which helps prevent the disease in the first place. In fact, some diseases have been eliminated almost entirely through vaccination – smallpox (last recorded case in 1977) and polio (no current cases except for a few in Afghanistan and Pakistan).
When an Ebola outbreak was reported a few years ago in Africa, it took about four years to develop a vaccine. One factor for this slow progress was that the disease was confined to only a part of Africa. However, COVID-19 is a pandemic that has affected the entire world, including the rich countries where hundreds of thousands of deaths have been reported. This led to urgent calls to develop a vaccine as fast as possible. Researchers and drug companies responded to this call, armed with a slew of new technologies that could speed up development. Thus for the first time ever, two vaccines were developed in less than one year using groundbreaking mRNA technology and some developed countries are already administering them.
In addition to these two (Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna), several other vaccines are already on the market and in some cases, in people’s arms. Among them are Covishield by Oxford/AstraZeneca (UK/Sweden), Covaxin by Bharat Biotech (India) Sinovac/Sinopharm (China) and Sputnik V (Gamaleya Institute, Russia). In Sri Lanka too, there has been a great deal of debate about vaccine procurement, with the Government disclosing that the country could get the first jabs under the WHO/CEPI/GAVI COVAX facility as early as next month.
The focus has already shifted to the topic of who should get the first shots. There is no debate whatsoever that frontline health workers including ambulance crew and PHIs should be the first in line, which is indeed the case in most countries where vaccination campaigns have already started. They come into contact with COVID infected persons and suspected cases almost every day and hence, need a protective dose. It is also rational to reserve the next doses to the Security Forces and Police personnel, who are rendering a yeoman service in the battle against the Coronavirus. Those above 70 and those suffering from Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) should also be given preference.
But in distributing the vaccine(s), we should not lose sight of the other essential workers who have kept the economy ticking during the last nine months. The country would have grinded to a halt without their contribution. Moreover, they face increased risks as they come into contact with the public in the line of duty every day.
The public service, especially at grassroots level, did not shut down even during the lockdown period, with the Grama Sevakas very much involved in the relief efforts. Postal workers too did their part, delivering medicines to the doorsteps of patients who were unable to visit their clinics.
Both Railway and Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) workers too rose to the occasion, transporting essential workers and freight. Private bus crews as well as office van crews too face risks. Most countries have also prioritized supermarket, pharmacy and grocery store workers in the vaccination drive, as they come into direct contact with customers for 8-9 hours every day. Theirs is an essential job that ensures a steady supply of goods to the public.
Likewise, workers at the Dedicated Economic Centres (DECs) and other wholesale shopping complexes must also be included in the vaccination drive. After all, one of the two main COVID clusters of the second wave originated from the Peliyagoda Fish Market complex. Vaccination will ensure that such an occurrence is not repeated.
But none of us could have survived the lockdown without the vital contribution made by our farming community. The Government granted them permission to continue farming even amidst the lockdown. Although they did experience problems in selling some of the produce during this period, they persevered and actively contributed to the Government’s drive to establish a localized economy. The Government has already implemented an import substitution mechanism for 14 crops which the farming community has embraced with vigour.
With the opening of the country’s main international airports to commercial traffic and tourism it is vital that airport workers and those directly employed in the tourism sector (guides, drivers etc.) are inoculated against COVID-19 without any undue delay. While the authorities are insisting on a negative PCR Test result from all incoming travellers (and perhaps even proof of vaccination at some point over the next few months), that in itself is not a guarantee that they will be free of COVID.
It is therefore vital to include all these sectors in the vaccination drive as we should strive to protect frontline essential workers from this contagion, with which we will have to live for some time according to all indications and WHO predictions.
