Q8. In India, if a person gets adverse life-threatening side effects due to COVID 19 vaccine, is there any compensation from the Vaccine Company or the Government of India?
Answer: In UK, about an equivalent of INR 1,20,000,00 is given to the patients injured through the vaccine. In USA also, there is Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) through which vaccine injured patients are compensated. In 2020, an equivalent of about INR 2000 crore was distributed to vaccine injured people. In India, however there is no such provision, which means Indians can go ahead vaccinating themselves at their own risk.
Q9. Will this COVID-19 vaccine protect against the new variant of SARS-CoV-2?
Answer: There is no evidence to prove the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine on the new variant SARS-CoV-2. Till then, it is safe to assume that COVID-19 vaccine will not protect against the new SARS-CoV-2 variant/strain.
Q10. Will I be free of the mask and social distancing guidelines, once I vaccinate myself with COVID-19 vaccine?
Answer: No, vaccinating is like voluntarily infecting yourself with the SARS-CoV-2 virus with the hope that it will help the body to produce antibodies against it.
In fact, all vaccinated persons should quarantine themselves for 14 days in the same way as when someone catches infection naturally.