16 JANUARY 2021
PRIME MINISTER LAUNCHES VACCINE DRIVE AGAINST COVID-19
Addressing the nation during the historic launch of Covid-19 vaccination programme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the vaccine will ensure a decisive victory for the country over the pandemic.
“The vaccines have come about in the shortest time span and this is an achievement for India and its contribution towards the battle against Covid-19. There are 100 countries which do not have a population of three crore but India in the first phase will inoculate three crore healthcare and frontline workers, and in the next step, we will take this number to 30 crore”, Prime Minister said.
A total of three thousand six session sites across the nation have been virtually connected and around hundred beneficiaries were vaccinated at each centre on the inaugural day.
The programme Co-WIN developed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare will facilitate the real time management of the vaccine including all information of the vaccine and the individual details of the beneficiaries who have taken the vaccine.
A dedicated Call Service (1075) has been provided to address all queries related to the pandemic and the vaccine roll-out.
The Covid-19 cases increased to 1,05,27,683 with 15,590 people tested positive for the last 24 hours on 15 January, 2021. The death toll increased to 1,51,98 with 191 new fatalities in the country.
The national Covid-19 recovery rate is 96.53 per cent and the fatality rate stands at 1.44 per cent.
The Government has approved two vaccines, AstraZeneca- Oxford University’s Covishield and Covaxin produced by Bharat Biotech.
The world’s biggest vaccine producer, Serum Institute of India (SII) has made 50 million doses of Covishield and will increase the production to 100 million doses a month by March 2021.
Meanwhile, the Health Ministry has decided to take immediate steps to take up elaborate communication strategy to counter issues arising out of vaccine hesitancy and alleviate apprehensions of the vaccine.
The strategy also seeks to build trust and confidence in the vaccine, making propaganda through media, community groups and celebrities in the country.
More than 3 lakh healthcare workers were vaccinated on the first day across all states and union territories.
