Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is launching the "world's largest" vaccination campaign on Saturday, as the nation tries to bring the COVID-19 pandemic under control starting with two locally-manufactured shots.
Modi is going to address healthcare workers through video conferencing; however, he will not immediately take the vaccine himself as the initial priority is given to nurses, doctors, and frontline workers.
[embed]https://twitter.com/bandisanjay_bjp/status/1350321494912495617?s=08[/embed]
On the first day, about 100 people will be voluntarily vaccinated in each of the 3,006 centers in the country, according to the government’s statement.
"This will be the world’s largest vaccination programme covering the entire length and breadth of the country," Modi's office said in a statement this week.
The 30 million health staff and other frontline workers, such as those in sanitation and security, will be the first to get the vaccine, followed by about 270 million people older than 50 or deemed high-risk because of pre-existing medical conditions.
India, the world's most populous country after China, revealed that it may not need to vaccinate all of its 1.35 billion people to create herd immunity.
If half of the country’s population get vaccinated, it will make it one of the largest immunization programmes in the world, even if countries like the United States were to vaccinate every resident.
Beneficiaries will not be able to choose between the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine and a government-backed, homegrown one from Bharat Biotech whose efficacy is not known, noting that both are being produced locally.
The Indian Council of Medical Research has expressed its optimism about the ongoing trials to reach the production of an Indian anti-virus vaccine for the novel coronavirus, and considered them promising and attracting global attention.
Follow the latest news on Google News
