India is ready to start the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 on January 16, 2021, the central government notified in a press release on Saturday.
The launch of the Covid vaccine will prioritize healthcare workers and frontline workers estimated to be around 3 crore, followed by those over 50 and population groups under 50 with comorbidities totaling around around 27 crore.
The government plans to start the campaign right after the upcoming festivals such as Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu, among others.
Ahead of the campaign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting on Saturday to review the status of COVID-19 in the country along with State / UT readiness for COVID vaccination. The meeting was attended by the Cabinet Secretary, the Chief Secretary of the PM, the Secretary of Health and other senior officials.
During his 16 Address of Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas Earlier today, Prime Minister Modi said that India is ready with two vaccines for the protection of humanity And the world is not only waiting for them, but is also watching the country run the largest vaccination program in the world.
India’s drug regulator recently approved Oxford Covishield’s COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and locally developed vaccine Covaxin from Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country. Two trials of the vaccines have also been conducted across the country to understand how best to deliver them and to fill gaps in logistics and training.
Modi praised India’s fight against COVID-19 and said that we are among the countries with the lowest death rate and the highest recovery rate. He also said that the way the country held together during the pandemic was unmatched. “As the pharmacy of the world, India has provided important medicines to all those in need in the world and continues to do so,” he said.
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