'Expedite Covid vaccination drive': IMA president Dr Jayalal's advice to Centre

IMA president Dr JA Jayalal called for speeding up Covid-19 vaccination drive in India. Dr Jayalal warned about the threat of a third wave as the majority of the population is not vaccinated. “The only way forward for us to deal with Covid-19 is vaccination. If we're not pushing for mass vaccination, it's not safe to face the third wave. Mass vaccination has to be done in a universal, affordable & accessible way. Centre must procure maximum number of vaccines & decentralise vaccination. We should expedite the process & complete our target of 60-70% vaccination. There's conflict as to when should people recovering from Covid get vaccinated. Making them wait for 6 months is a threat for them, exposing them to the virus. Govt should reconsider it with scientific evidence & come out with an objective. Every individual in this country should be vaccinated at the earliest,” he said. India recorded the highest single-day Covid fatalities with 4,529 new deaths in the last 24 hours.