Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India was much better placed to fight the Covid pandemic now with many Made in India vaccines and asked people to adhere to Covid-appropriate behaviour.
Hailing the commencement of Covid inoculation drive for younger children, the PM noted with satisfaction the level of vaccine acceptance in India and said the Indian vaccine movement is people-powered unlike in other countries where vaccine hesitancy is a challenge.“Today is an important day in India’s efforts to vaccinate our citizens. Now onwards, youngsters in the 12-14 age group are eligible for vaccines and all those above 60 are eligible for precaution doses. I urge people in these age groups to get vaccinated. India’s vaccination drive, which is the largest in the world, is science-driven. We began work to create vaccines in early 2020, to protect our citizens and strengthen our fight against the pandemic,” the PM tweeted.
He said the manner in which the Indian scientists, innovators and the private sector rose to the occasion was commendable.“In late 2020, I had visited three of our vaccine manufacturers and got firsthand details of their efforts to protect our citizens. In January 2021, we began our vaccination drive for doctors, health-care and frontline workers. The aim was to ensure that those at the forefront of the fight against Covid get proper protection at the earliest,” the PM said.Recalling the phased manner in which the Covid vaccination drive was opened the PM said that in March 2021, vaccination was opened to those above 60 and those over 45 with comorbidities and later for all those above 18.
It should make every Indian proud that the vaccines are free of cost for those who want it, the PM said.Noting that India had administered over 180 crore doses, which included over 9 crore doses in age group of 15-17 and over 2 crore precaution doses, the PM said this forms an important protective shield for our citizens against Covid.“Over the last year, India’s vaccination drive has been people-powered. Unlike other nations where we are witnessing a lot of vaccine hesitancy, people here have not only taken their doses but also urged others to get vaccinated as soon as possible. This is heartening to see,” the PM said.He appreciated the state governments for their support towards India’s vaccination drive and said the hill states and those where tourism is important, had achieved near total vaccination coverage and several big states had also done well.
Noting the importance of helping others, the PM said that in line with India’s ethos of caring for the entire planet, the government sent vaccines to several nations under the Vaccine Maitri programme and India’s vaccination efforts made the global fight against Covid stronger.“Today, India has many ‘Made in India’ vaccines. We have also granted approval to other vaccines after a due process of evaluation. We are in a much better position to fight this deadly pandemic. At the same time, we have to keep following all Covid-related precautions,” the PM said.
