India has increased its daily vaccination rate to 15 lakh jabs a day, with over two crore COVID-19 shots being administered so far, said Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Sunday, 7 March. He emphasised that India is in the endgame of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking at the Delhi Medical Association's (DMA's) 62nd Annual Delhi State Medical Conference (MEDICON 2021) on Sunday, Vardhan noted that politics should not get in the way of the vaccination drive, reported news agency PTI.
“We are in the end game of the COVID-19 pandemic in India, and to succeed at this stage, we need to follow three steps: Keep politics out of the COVID-19 vaccination drive, trust the science behind COVID-19 vaccines, and ensure our near and dear ones get vaccinated on time.”Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister
Urging people to trust the science behind the vaccine, the health minister advised that all should get vaccinated on time.
“Unlike most other countries, we have a steady supply of COVID-19 vaccines that are safe with proven immunogenicity and efficacy. Based on the initial results, these Made in India vaccines have shown some of the lowest adverse events following immunisation (AEFI) anywhere in the world.”Dr Harsh Vardhan, as quoted by PTI
‘India Supplied COVID Vaccines to 62 Countries’
Vardhan praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi and opined that under his guidance, India has emerged a global leader on every front, and has converted adversity into opportunity.
He added that India cannot be safe from the pandemic in isolation, and it is important to curb COVID-19 vaccine nationalism, and equitable distribution is the need for the hour.
The health minister noted that PM Modi insisted that the vaccines “should be provided with no strings attached, and the countries without the vaccine supply should not be taken advantage of at the time of a global humanitarian crisis.”
India has supplied 5.51 crore COVID-19 vaccines to 62 different countries, stated Vardhan, as per the report.
‘Thanks to Healthcare Workers’
The minister thanked frontline workers, saying that, “India defied all experts and scientists who believe that we will crumble in this pandemic. We stood our ground thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of our Corona Warriors.”
He added that health workers around the country sacrificed personal time, and mental, physical, and emotional health for the country’s sake.
India on Monday reported 18,599 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total cases in the country to 1,12,29,398, as death toll rose to 1,57,853. Meanwhile, active cases stands at 1,88,747, while total discharges are at 1,08,82,798, according to the Union Health Ministry.
(With inputs from PTI)
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