India launches world's largest vaccination drive
- by Virginia Carter
- in World Media
- — Jan 19, 2021
India kicked off its national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, starting with health care workers on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched India's vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus via video conferencing. Most of the corona cases have been reported in Brazil after the US.
All the 11 persons who reported some very minor adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) in the state on Saturday after they received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, are doing well.
The health worker who was vaccinated on January 16 and died the next evening.
The Government and NHS are rolling out vaccines in stages, with the first administered to those living in care homes and residential care workers. Many burst with pride.
Devi has treated patients throughout the pandemic in a hospital in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh state in India's heartland.
According to Suresh Jadhav, Executive Director of the Serum Institute, work is progressing rapidly on four more vaccines in addition to Covishield.
The Drug Controller General of India had on January 3 approved Covishield and Covaxin for emergency use by state-run and private hospitals across the country under the protocols of the Union Health Ministry. A total of 17,072 frontline workers were administered the vaccines during 553 sessions held in six states on Sunday. Addressing the media in New Delhi, Additional Health Secretary, Dr Manohar Agnani said, with this taking all the two days, a total of 2 lakh 24 thousand and 301 beneficiaries have been vaccinated so far.
Areas will have restrictions eased once their death rate has fallen, the number of hospital admissions drops and some people aged between 50 and 70 are vaccinated, the newspaper said.
"Our vaccine allocation strategy clearly sets out a priority list for vaccination - and that's now for frontline healthcare workers and residents and staff of our long term residential care facilities".
