Don't want to do politics over Covid-19 vaccine, says Uddhav Thackeray

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched India's vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus via video conferencing.

Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Saturday said he does not want to politics over Covid-19 vaccine, adding that all citizens should be treated equally so that there is no question of inequality.

Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on the inaugural day.

"I don't want to do politics over Covid-19 vaccination. Citizens of all states should be equal and are equal for Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that there is no question of inequality, said Thackeray.

On whether Covid-19 vaccination will be for free for citizens of Maharashtra, CM Thackeray said, "Whenever we get more clarity on vaccine availablity and its charges from Centre, we will be clear on it. Once Central government gives more clarity, we will take a final call."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched India's vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus via video conferencing.

A total of 3,006 session sites across all states and union territories will be virtually connected during the launch. Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on the inaugural day.

Billed as the world's largest vaccination program, covering the entire length and breadth of the country, the drive aims to first inoculate millions of its healthcare and frontline workers and reach an estimated 3 crore people by the end of its first phase.

Meanwhile, Chief Ministers of several states attended the launch of the vaccination drive at government hospitals in their respective states.

Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy attended the launch of the Covid-19 vaccination programme at Government General Hospital, Vijayawada, while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan attended the inaugural event at Gandhi Hospital in Bhopal.

The drugs regulatory body of India has currently approved two vaccines. Pune-based Serum Institute of India has developed the Covishield vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University while the Covaxin has been developed by Hyderabad's Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Medical Council of research (ICMR) and National Institute of Virology.

According to the Union health ministry, the full initial procurement amount of 1.65 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin vaccines against Covid-19 have been allocated to all States/UTs in the proportion of Health Care Workers database.