PM Modi will begin his three-city tour with a visit to the Zydus Cadila plant near Ahmedabad
New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit India’s major vaccine centers today to personally review the development of the coronavirus vaccine and the manufacturing process. The visit, Prime Minister Modi’s office said, was meant to help him get a “first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India’s effort to vaccinate its citizens.”
According to the schedule, Prime Minister Modi will begin his three-city vaccine tour with a visit to the Zydus Cadila Pharmaceutical Plant near Ahmedabad. The prime minister landed at Ahmedabad airport shortly before 9:30 am and made his way to the Zydus Cadila plant near the city. The plant is located in the Changodar industrial zone, more than 20 km from Ahmedabad. PM Modi will be at the plant for an hour, an official said. The drugmaker has announced that the first phase of the clinical trial of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, ZyCoV-D, was completed and the second phase of clinical trials began in August.
From Ahmedabad, PM Modi will fly to Pune, where the Serum Institute of India (SII) is based, which has partnered with global pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford for a COVID-19 vaccine. PM Modi is expected to review the status of the vaccine, including its delivery, production and distribution mechanisms during the visit.
The Prime Minister will then travel to Hyderabad and visit Bharat BioTech, which is working on Covaxin, presented as India’s first indigenous vaccine candidate. The prime minister is expected to arrive at 3:40 p.m. and after a visit to the facilities between 4-5 p.m., he will fly at 5:40 p.m.
“As India enters a critical phase in the fight against COVID-19, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to these facilities and discussions with scientists will help him gain a first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and the roadmap in India’s effort to vaccinate its citizens, “the Prime Minister’s Office tweeted yesterday.
On November 24, the Prime Minister, while speaking to the Chief Ministers of various states about the deteriorating pandemic situation in their states in a virtual meeting, advised states to establish cold storage facilities for the vaccine. COVID-19 in advance and suggested that they prepare and submit a plan for distribution to the central government.
(With PTI inputs)
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