1 Billion Doses: PM Modi Expresses Gratitude Towards Covid Vaccine Manufacturers, Health Workers

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (October 21) expressed gratitude towards COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers, health workers and all others involved in the vaccination drive, as India achieved a milestone feat of administering 100 crore vaccine doses. The Prime Minister was addressing the launch event of the Infosys Foundation made 806-bedded Vishram Sadan at National Cancer Institute (NCI) in Jhajjar Campus of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi via video conferencing. Attributing this accomplishment to every citizen of the country, PM Modi said, “Today India has achieved the landmark of administering 100 crore vaccinations as a ‘Suraksha Kawach’ against COVID-19. This achievement belongs to every Indian. I express my gratitude towards vaccine manufacturers, health workers and all others involved in this vaccination programme.”

Also Read: India Reaches 1 Billion COVID-19 Vaccination Milestone

The Prime Minister said that the country now has a strong protective armour of 100 crore vaccine doses to counter the biggest pandemic in 100 years.

Today, this day of October 21, 2021, has been recorded in history. India has crossed the 100 crore vaccine dose mark sometime back. To counter the biggest pandemic in 100 years, the country now has a strong protective armour of 100 crore vaccine doses, he added.

In a landmark achievement, India’s cumulative COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 100 crore doses on Thursday. A total of 100 crore vaccine doses have been administered so far to eligible beneficiaries, as per the CoWIN portal at 9:47 am today. India’s COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021.

Initially, the vaccination was opened for Health Care Workers (HCWs) only. From February 2, front line workers were made eligible for vaccination. These included State and Central Police personnel, Armed Force Personnel, Home Guards, Civil Defence & Disaster Management Volunteers, Municipal workers, Prison Staff, PRI Staff and Revenue workers involved in containment and surveillance, Railway Protection Force and election Staff.

The vaccination drive was expanded from March 1 to include persons above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with associated specified 20 comorbidities. It was further expanded to all people above 45 years of age from April 1. From May 1, all persons above 18 years of age were made eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.

Also Read: Decision On Vaccination Of Children To Be Based On Scientific Rationale: Dr V K Paul

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity,  that is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.