Prime Minister Narendra Modi to address the nation at 10 am
A day after the India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage crossed the 1 billion mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation on Friday at 10 am.
FollowA day after India's Covid-19 vaccination coverage crossed the 1 billion mark, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be addressing the nation on Friday at 10 am. In an opinion piece on Friday, the Prime Minister said that the achievement was made possible by the herculean effort involving various sections of society. He said that the world’s largest vaccination drive had enabled the country to progress from anxiety to assurance and emerged stronger.
The Prime Minister noted that the trust of all stakeholders was crucial for any initiative to gain and sustain speed and scale. Listing the reasons for the success of the vaccination drive, Prime Minister said that despite various efforts to create mistrust and panic people did not lose their trust in the vaccine. He also spoke of a paradigm shift with regard to people reposing their faith in Made in India vaccines.
He pointed out that the country had overcome the challenges posed by those who doubted the vaccination process, claimed mismanagement, tried to find issues with supply chains and said that it would take three to four years for a billion people to be vaccinated. However, Prime Minister Modi said, the citizens had shown how spectacular results can be achieved if they are made trusted partners.
Official data suggests that over 75 per cent of India's adult population has received the first dose of the Covid vaccine and around 31 per cent have been administered both doses of the vaccine. The achievement also earned India praise from the UNICEF which hailed it as a tremendous achievement considering the logistical complexity of administering 1 billion doses in less than a year in a vast and diverse country.
The nationwide vaccination drive was initiated on January 16, 2021, with health care workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started on February 2. On March 1, the vaccination drive was extended to people aged over 60 and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. On April 1, all people aged over 45 years were made eligible for vaccines. And from May 1, the government allowed all above 18 to be vaccinated.
Five states -- Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh -- have administered the highest number of doses. According to government data, India crossed the 10-crore vaccination mark in 85 days, touched the 50-crore mark in 118 more days and surpassed the 100-crore mark in 76 more days.
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