EPFO cites coronavirus lockdown as reason for delay in claims process

The body on April 6 uploaded a tweet with requirements for the claims to go through

Moneycontrol News

April 07, 2020 / 06:34 PM IST

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has asked members to wait for their claims, stating the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown has affected function.

The Union Labour Ministry on March 28 allowed a withdrawal of non-refundable advances. As per the amendment, members can in a pandemic withdraw their basic wages and dearness allowance for three months or up to 75 percent of their total account, whichever is less.

This came after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on March 26 said the government is ready to amend the regulation of EPF due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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The EPFO had initially committed to clear such claims in three days, but as the process has dragged many took to social media to inquire about their claims. To one such query on Twitter, the EPFO said: “Due to the lock down and consequent movement restriction functioning of the office has been effected and claims settlement has also been affected.” (Sic)

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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