personal finance

Vaccination – The right way to fight against the Covid-19 menace


The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted one and all. It has not only triggered a public health crisis but crippled the financial lives of millions of people across the world. According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, over 1 crore people lost their jobs because of the second wave of the deadly virus. Around 97 percent of household’s incomes declined since the beginning of the pandemic

The number of active cases has finally started to decline since its peak in May, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). This consistent decline in active cases can be attributed to the mass inoculations that kicked off from May 1 for individuals aged over 18 years.

Data shared in April suggested how the chances of contracting the deadly Coronavirus could be successfully brought down after vaccination. According to MoHFW, the percentage of people who have tested positive after their first or second dose of vaccine is significantly lower.

Despite the continuous decline in Covid-19 cases, the abysmally low level of health insurance penetration calls for attention. With most people in India relying strongly on insurance provided by employers, coronavirus has come as a wake-up call.

Many people who were faced with grave circumstances during the second wave, realised the importance of having adequate health insurance. The Covid scenario is likely to drive consumers to buy individual health policies or Family Floaters.

Saurabh Kumar, Finance Professional

“We always felt that Rs 5-10 lakh cover is adequate but looking at the double-digit medical inflation, one should opt for Rs 15-20 lakh and above health insurance that covers Covid and other critical illnesses.”

Several people had to opt for personal loans to deal with the financial crunch as they exhausted their health insurance covers during the current crisis. To avoid such a scenario, one should re-evaluate their health insurance policies and opt for adequate health insurance covers – be it individual policies or family floaters – as suitable to them.

Arpit Tiwari, Business Manager

“When one of my friends got hospitalised for Covid and paid lacs in medical bills, I decided to buy a health plan in addition to the group insurance from my employer. I chose the HealthGain policy by Reliance General Insurance with a Family Floater Plan. It gives me benefits such as cashless hospitalization, reinstatement of base sum insured, pre and post hospitalization expenses, and immense peace of mind. Now I know, even if we get into a medical emergency, arranging finances to come out will be the last thing on my mind.”

Even as the Government machinery has upped its ante to increase vaccine production, responsible corporations like Reliance General Insurance have come forward with an industry-first initiative to encourage people to get vaccinated, by offering an additional 5 percent discount on Reliance Health Infinity Insurance Policy to anyone who has taken the vaccination. People buying a new policy or renewing an existing one can avail this offer, over and above all other premium discounts.

Also, vaccination has contributed significantly to curbing the spread of Covid-19, suggests data. The data on infection breakthroughs released by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) showed only 0.04% of people tested positive after the second dose of Covaxin, while people infected after taking the first or second dose of Covishield amounted to 0.03% of the total infected cases as of April this year.

Vaccination acts as a second layer of protection after the basic need to maintain social distance, hygiene habits like washing hands and wearing masks at all times and can contribute to reducing the Covid cases in India. According to experts, sufficient antibodies are generated only 10-15 days after taking the second dose.

image3 (5) (1)ET Spotlight

RGI’s initiative is an important step to increase the penetration of health insurance in India and aims to cover every Indian against this pandemic or any medical emergency.



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