WORLD’S BIGGEST VACCINE DRIVE FROM JAN. 16

World’s biggest inoculation drive to curb Covid to begin

Putting an end to the long wait for the Covid-19 vaccine, the Union government on Saturday announced that the nationwide inoculation drive will begin from January 16.

The date has been decided keeping in mind forthcoming festivals like Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu etc. Priority will be given to healthcare and frontline workers, estimated to be around 3 crore in number.

MORE THAN 61,000 programme managers, 2 lakh vaccinators and 3.7 lakh other vaccination team members have been trained for the drive.

● EMERGENCY USE Authorisation has been granted for Covishield (by SII) and Covaxin (Bharat Biotech).

Putting an end to the long wait for the Covid-19 vaccination, the union government on Saturday announced that the nationwide inoculation drive will begin from January 16.

The date has been decided keeping in mind the forthcoming festivals like Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Magh Bihu etc.

India till date has over

1.04 crore cases and over

1.50 lakh fatalities due to

Covid-19. In the last 24 hours 18, 222 fresh cases and 228 new deaths have been recorded. The total number of people with the new mutated strain of UK virus has now reached 90.

India is ready to protect humanity with not just one but “two made in India Corona vaccines” and the world “is also eyeing how India runs the world’s largest vaccination programme”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday while addressing the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

“Today, India is ready to protect humanity with not one but two Made in India vaccines. Being the pharmacy of the world, India has done the work of delivering essential medicines to every needy in the world and is still doing it today. Today, the world is not only waiting for India’s vaccine, but it is also eyeing how India runs the world’s largest vaccination programme,” he said.

“In this era of pandemic, India again showed what our potential is. ... Be it PPE kits, masks, ventilators, testing kits, all these were (earlier) sought from outside India. India has today not only become self-reliant in them but has started exporting many of these products as well. Today India is one of the countries with the lowest Fatality Rate and Fastest Recovery Rate in the world,” he added.

Emergency Use Authorisation or Accelerated Approval has been granted by the Drug Controller General of India for Covishield (by SII) and Covaxin (Bharat Biotech).

Central government is in the process of procuring the vaccines that will be delivered to main hubs in each zone and taken to different parts of the country from there. Priority will be given to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers, estimated to be around 3 crores in number, followed by those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crore.

According to officials, the vaccination exercise will be conducted utilising experience of elections (booth strategy) and Universal Immunization Program without compromising of existing healthcare services, especially national programs and primary health care.

The PM was also apprised about the CoWIN Vaccine Delivery Management System that will provide real time