25 million jabs in a day didn’t go down well with Oppn: PM Modi

On August 29, the Himachal Pradesh government announced that it has covered its entire adult population with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, becoming the first state in the country to do so.

States and Union territories such as Himachal Pradesh, Goa, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep have administered at least one dose of a vaccine against Covid-19 to their entire populations, with a priority given to cities that have a high tourist influx, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government has prioritised tourist destinations in the country for its vaccination drive to encourage international tourism.

Addressing health care workers and vaccine beneficiaries in Goa a day after India administered a record 25 million jabs against the coronavirus disease, PM Modi also said that the overwhelming response to the vaccination drive on his birthday on September 17 made a political party experience “fever”.

“India has given a lot of priority to states with potential tourism sector in the vaccination campaign. Himachal Pradesh and Goa are some examples; (where) everyone has received their first dose already. Tourists can visit these places with a feeling of safety,” said Modi.

Sikkim, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Kerala, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, and Dadra & Nagar Haveli were not far behind in vaccinating their populations, he added.

On August 29, the Himachal Pradesh government announced that it has covered its entire adult population with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, becoming the first state in the country to do so. According to the CoWin dashboard, it continues to lead the country in key vaccination metrics – population covered with at least one dose, and the percentage of adults fully vaccinated. Around 63.7% of all adults in the state are partially vaccinated, while another 37.8% have been fully vaccinated.

Modi said that the government has prioritised tourist destinations in the country for its vaccination drive to encourage international tourism.

“It is very important that our tourism destinations reopen. When everyone from the hotel industry, taxi drivers, vendors and shopkeepers are vaccinated, people will feel safe to travel that destination,” he said.

Earlier this week, Goa chief minister Pramod Sawant also announced that 100% of Goa’s population had received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“This is a major milestone in the fight against Corona. Every achievement of Goa that epitomises the concept of Ek Bharat -Shreshth Bharat fills me with great joy,” the Prime Minister said during the virtual interaction.

Modi said that Goa braved heavy rains, cyclones and floods while maintaining the pace of vaccinations. He also lauded the healthcare workers for ensuring minimum vaccine wastage.

“Goa is among the international tourist destinations where everyone is vaccinated,” he added.

He said the spread of the virus has been reduced but people should not let the guard down. “We should give importance to COVID-19 protocol as much as to vaccination,” he said.

While discussing the concerns over side effects of the vaccine during his interaction with healthworkers, the PM said, “I have heard of vaccine beneficiaries developing side effects. However, for the first time, I saw that a political party developed fever late last night after India achieved its vaccination record. Is there any logic to this?”

The PM did not name any political party, however, his comments came after senior Congress leader P Chidambaram asked why the country had to wait till the PM’s birthday for the vaccination milestone.

“Happy and grateful that 2.5 crore vaccinations were administered vaccines yesterday. But why did we have to wait until the PM’s birthday? Suppose the PM’s birthday was on December 31 then would the 2.5 crore vaccinations have been done only on the last day of the year? Vaccination is not like cutting a cake on a birthday,” Chidambaram said in a tweet.

He also said, “Vaccination is a programme, it is a process. It has to be accelerated every day, not scale a peak on a birthday. Sobering thoughts: a) one-third of the adult population has yet to receive its FIRST dose. b) Only 21% has been FULLY vaccinated.”

The former Union minister said the PM should celebrate his birthday everyday as BJP-ruled states “performed” on the day and vaccinated many times their daily averages.

“BJP ruled states -- UP, MP, Gujarat and Karnataka -- “perform” on the PM’s birthday and vaccinate many times the daily average. On other days, they are “non-performing” states. I wish the PM celebrated his birthday every day,” said Chidambaram

Soon after Chidambaram’s tweet, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, “Looking forward to many more days of 2.1 crore vaccinations. This pace is what our country needs.”

With nearly 25 million shots of the Covid-19 vaccine administered on Friday, India’s inoculation drive nearly doubled its previous single-day record for doses delivered, in a major push to the drive by several states to mark the PM’s birthday.

States across the country – led largely by the ones ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – were preparing for a record vaccination day as part of three-week celebrations to mark the Prime Minister’s 71st birthday. The Bihar government had announced it will administer 3 million shots on Friday; Gujarat targeted 3.5 million for the day; Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka said they were preparing for a massive vaccination drive, and Uttar Pradesh launched a 20-day ‘Seva Aur Samarpan Abhiyaan’.

According to Co-WIN data analysed by HT, at least eight states – Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana and Uttarakhand –set new single-day records of dose administration on Friday.

(With agency inputs)