Vaccination for COVID-19 is voluntary, says Health Ministry

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Getting vaccinated for COVID-19 will be voluntary, the Union Health Ministry has said while underlining that the vaccine introduced in India will be as effective as any vaccine developed by other countries.

The ministry further stated that it was advisable to receive a complete schedule of the anti-Coronavirus vaccine irrespective of past history of infection with COVID-19 as this will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease. It also said that protective level of antibodies generally develop two weeks after receiving the second dose.

The ministry listed a series of frequently asked questions on COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday night and responded to questions like if taking a vaccine was mandatory, how long it would take for the antibodies to develop and if it was necessary for a COVID-19 recovered person to take the vaccine.

"Vaccination for COVID-19 is voluntary. However, it is advisable to receive the complete schedule of the vaccine for protecting oneself against this disease and also to limit the spread of this disease to the close contacts including family members, friends, relatives and co-workers," the ministry said in response to a question on if it is mandatory to take the shot.

Kerala health staff get registered for vaccine
The registration of health workers, enrolled for receiving COVID-19 vaccination, is in the final stages in Kerala, state Health Minister K K Shailaja has said. District-level registration of healthcare workers of all 4,064 institutions in the government sector and 81 per cent of 4,557 private institutions in the state have been completed, she said.

Nov saw 51% lesser air passengers than 2019
A total of 63.54 lakh domestic passengers travelled by air in November, 51 per cent lower than the corresponding period last year, the country's aviation regulator DGCA said on Friday. As per the DGCA, 39.43 lakh and 52.71 lakh people travelled by air domestically in September and October, respectively. While IndiGo carried 34.23 lakh passengers in November, SpiceJet flew 8.4 lakh passengers, according to data shared by the DGCA.

99,93,660
Total number of cases in the country as of today

1,45,023
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India

95,37,587
Patients Recovered and discharged in india as of today

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