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‘Team India creating daily records…’: On Mann Ki Baat, PM Modi applauds fight against Covid-19
Every Indian has a role to play in fight against this viral illness, PM Modi said in the 81st episode of his monthly radio address.
“Team India” is setting new records daily in its fight against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), prime minister Narendra Modi said on Sunday, as he addressed the nation on the 81st episode of his monthly Mann Ki Baat radio programme.
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“On the vaccination front, India's achievements are so huge that those are being discussed around the world,” PM Modi said, in an apparent reference to vaccination of more than 10 million beneficiaries in a single-day on at least four occasions, the last of which was on September 17, when he turned 71.
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A record was made on that day, as more than 25 million people across the country received shots against the viral illness.
“Every Indian has an important role in this fight. While we should get vaccinated when our turn comes, we should also ensure that no one is left out of this circle of safety,” prime minister Modi further said, adding that even after inoculation, all Covid-19 protocols should be strictly complied with.
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The nationwide vaccination drive began on January 16 this year, with two vaccines: Covishield and Covaxin. Since then, at least 856,081,527 vaccine doses have been administered, including 6,842,786 in the last 24 hours, according to the Union health ministry's dashboard.
Four other vaccines have also received permission to be used in the inoculation drive. Of the six jabs, two, including Covaxin, are made-in-India shots. While Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech has developed Covaxin, Ahmedabad-based Zydus Cadila is behind ZyCoV-D. The latter, in fact, was mentioned prominently by the prime minister in his speech at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Saturday.
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Currently, only those aged 18 and above are eligible for a jab against the contagious disease. ZyCoV-D is the only vaccine to have been cleared for an age group below 18, receiving nod to be administered to those aged 12 and above.
