PM hails vax drive; terms it science-driven
As Covid-19 vaccination for children aged between 12 and 14 years begun on Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed India’s efforts and termed the country’s inoculation drive ‘science-driven’ and ‘people-powered’, and that the country is in a much better position to fight the deadly pandemic but people must continue taking all the necessary precautions.
Taking to Twitter, the Prime Minister urged youngsters in the age group 12-14 years to get Covid vaccination and those above 60 to get precautionary dose. The day one saw tepid response
Asserting that India’s vaccination drive, which is the largest in the world, is science-driven, PM Modi said, “India has administered over 180 crore Covid vaccine doses, including over 9 crore doses in age group 15-17, over 2 crore precaution doses.” Highlighting the journey of India’s vaccination drive, Modi said, “We began work to create vaccines in early 2020, to protect our citizens and strengthen our fight against the pandemic.” “India sent vaccines to several nations. Its vaccination efforts have made the global fight against COVID-19 stronger.
We are in a much better position to fight Covid pandemic, we have to keep following all precautions,” the Prime Minister added.
Modi further said, “The manner in which our scientists, innovators and the private sector rose to the occasion is commendable. In late 2020, I visited three of our vaccine manufacturers and got firsthand details of their efforts to protect our citizens,” he said.
In January 2021, India began its vaccination drive for doctors, healthcare and frontline workers, he noted, adding that the aim was to ensure those at the forefront of the fight against Covid get proper protection at the earliest.
The Centre on Tuesday had released guidelines for COVID-19 vaccination of children between 12-14 years, and said only Corbevax vaccine would be used for the beneficiaries of this age group. Two doses of Biological E’s intramuscular vaccine Corbevax would be administered to the beneficiaries in the 12-14 years age group at an interval of 28 days, the guidelines said.
According to the Centre’s guidelines, vaccination of 12-14 years would be conducted through dedicated inoculation sessions to avoid their unintended vaccination with any other COVID-19 vaccines.
