The government has called a meeting of all parties on December 4, which will be the second meeting of its kind since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation of the pandemic and the vaccine network is likely to be discussed at the meeting, which will be chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leaders of all the parties of both houses of Parliament have been summoned for the meeting, which will be held by videoconference at 10.30 am.
In addition to Prime Minister Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Interior Minister Amit Shah and Health Minister Harsh Vardhan will likely be present at the meeting. The Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Pralhad Joshi, and the Minister of State, Arjun Ram Meghwal, will also attend the meeting.
Discussions can take place over the holding of the winter session of Parliament, which can be affected by the budget session that usually starts in the last week of January. Congressional leader Manish Tewari demanded on Thursday that the winter session of Parliament be convened as soon as possible to discuss several pressing issues facing the country, such as the ongoing farmers’ protest against farm reform laws, aggression China and the Covid-19 crisis.
As far as Covid-19 is concerned, the meeting of all parties follows some crucial meetings that took place in recent weeks. On November 24, Prime Minister Modi held a video conference with senior ministers and other representatives from all states and territories in the union and discussed the government’s preparation of the vaccine. On November 28, the prime minister visited the vaccine development sites in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune. On November 30, OM Modi interacted with three other vaccine manufacturers: Gennova Biopharma, Biological E, and Dr Reddy’s.
Up to five candidate vaccines are in advanced stages of development. While four are in Phase II-III and one is in Phase-I-II trials.
An estimated one crore of front-line healthcare workers will receive the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine when it becomes available, and about 92 percent from government hospitals and 55 percent from private hospitals in all states. and union territories will provide data that identifies workers.
(With contributions from the agency)
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