New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 16 launched across India the world’s largest vaccination drive against Covid-19.
As many as 165,714 people were vaccinated across India on the first day, said federal Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who commended volunteers who helped in clinical trials and the research process of the vaccines.
Sanitation worker Manish Kumar became the first person in India to be vaccinated against Covid-19.
Kumar received his shot at Delhi’s premier All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), just one of the over 3,000 vaccination centers established around the country.
The government had aimed to vaccinate more than 300,000 people on the first day of the immunization campaign.
Government sources said considerable hesitation among people about getting the vaccines for the shortfall in numbers. Officials stressed that the drive was successful, there were no post-vaccine hospitalizations and the only glitches involved the “CoWin” software platform.
Kumar said many staff members in his department were scared. “So, I went to my seniors and said I should be given the vaccine first. I wanted to prove to my colleagues that there is no need to be scared. My wife even asked me not to take the vaccine. I told her it is just an injection. After taking the dose, I asked my mother to tell my wife that I am safe.”
The prime minister cautioned people to stay vigilant and maintain all precautions even after vaccination. He gave the nation a new motto – “Dawai bhi, Kadai bhi (yes to Vaccine, yes to discipline).”
India’s drive is one of the world’s biggest vaccination programs, starting with inoculating 30 million health and other frontline workers. Two shots manufactured in India, the Covishield developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, and Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech, are being used. The drive was remote launched by Modi with the chanting of a Sanskrit shloka that meant ”let all be happy, let all be healthy.”
“I want to remind people of the country that two doses of the Corona vaccine are very important. Don’t commit the mistake that you take one dose and forget the second one. As experts have been saying, there will be a gap of about one month between the two doses,” he said.
The prime minister urged people to not fall for propaganda over vaccines, amid controversy over Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin, which has been cleared for emergency use while still in clinical trial.
“Our scientists and experts were assured about the safety and efficacy of the two Made-in-India vaccines, only then did they allow the emergency use authorization. So stay away from propaganda, rumors, or misinformation,” Modi said.
“Our vaccine developers have global credibility. Every Indian will be proud that life-saving vaccines given to 60 percent children globally are made in India.”
He also said that Indian vaccines were cheaper compared to the other global vaccines, which required stringent conditions for storage.
“India’s vaccines are developed keeping in mind our country. From storage to transportation, these vaccines are made for Indian conditions. They will give decisive victory to our country,” he said
After the vaccination, Vardhan said it was a day of “tremendous relief,:
He congratulated health ministers of all the states and Union territories for their collaboration in the drive.
Appreciating the efforts of scientists and doctors, the health minister said that the country has been successful to an extent in the fight against Covid-19. “Today is perhaps the day of tremendous relief for all of us in the past year… We received success to an extent in our fight against Covid- 19 in one year. Data in the last three to four months, our recovery and fatality rate indicate that we were gradually heading towards victory against Covid,” Vardhan said in a video conference with the health ministers.
Vardhan also sought the feedback from the state health ministers on the largest vaccination drive. Most health ministers talked about the technical glitches in the Co-WIN app that slowed the process of certificate generation and distribution. As per various state health ministers, their respective states were able to achieve 70 percent of the total inoculation target for the day. They said the vaccination drive is still going on.
India’s tally of the coronavirus disease stands at more than 10.5 million and its death toll has risen to 152,093. The country has 211,03 active cases with the recovery rate of 96 percent.
Source: ndtv.com, hindustantimes.com