Jagdish Sheth, the first in screen printing industry to undergo COVID-19 vaccine trial
05 January 2021: The idiom “Who will tie the bell to the cat” means to attempt, or agree to perform, an impossibly difficult task! So, when it comes to the ongoing vaccine trials for COVID-19, not that everybody would dare to volunteer for the trial. It needs a strong conviction and will power to volunteer for a cause. One has to first extinguish the ‘fire of fear’ to be able to face the widespread pandemic.
So, Kudos to Jagdish Sheth, Founder and Managing Director of Photokina Chemicals Pvt. Ltd., Ahmedabad, who recently volunteered for vaccine trial. The first dose of vaccine was injected into his body on 1st January 2021 in Ahmedabad by the team of Bharat Biotech International Ltd, a biotechnology co. headquartered in Hyderabad, engaged in the drug discovery, drug development, manufacture of vaccines, bio-therapeutics, pharmaceuticals and health care products.
The second dose is expected to be administered by end of January 2021. “After the vaccination, I have not faced any side effects and there is also a periodic check-up,” says Jagdish Sheth, adding, “To me, it was a hopeful moment at the very beginning of the New Year. I hope this is a small step and contribution from my heart for the betterment of humanity.”
He adds “Somewhere someone has to volunteer for such crucial vaccination because the pandemic has almost completed one year of its presence and we are still in the process of rolling out vaccine and medicines for the masses to protect humanity from the COVID-19 menace. Unless someone volunteers how can we expect to produce the vaccine in large scale? Same applies in screen printing, unless some screen printers do not support for test and trial of our newly developed product – be it mesh, inks or chemicals – how can we produce it in a large scale for the betterment of the industry.”
Meanwhile, he informs that during the initial stages of COVID-19 pandemic, his company Photokina has rendered voluntary service by distributing food kit in the nearby Changodar Village in Gujarat. “We distributed food kits to all the needy people in the village for about two months and took care of our migrant workmen by distributing them food kits and other assistance.”
Business-wise, Photokina has been performing much better than last year (2019). “Last three months, October, November and December have been very good although export wise there was sluggishness due to shipment problem. Our export market was restricted to Nepal and Bangladesh. In the domestic market, industrial printing is doing better and graphics and commercial segments are yet to recover from the COVID-19 impact. And, raw material cost-wise our prices have not gone up and we are reasonable in our offering,” concludes Jagdish Sheth.
So, let’s pat on the back of Jagdish Sheth for his participation in a COVID-19 vaccine trial and hope many from the printing industry come forward for such medically and socially important initiative to save and serve humanity.
