India begins today a nationwide vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus to be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 10
Billed as the world’s largest vaccination program, covering the entire length and breadth of the country, the drive aims to first inoculate millions of its healthcare and frontline workers and reach an estimated 3 crore people by the end of its first phase.
A total of 3006 session sites across all states and union territories will be virtually connected during the launch. Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on an inaugural day, the union health ministry has said.
In the first phase government and private-sector health care workers including Integrated Child Development Services(ICDS) workers, will receive the vaccine in the first phase.
The Centre has planned to vaccinate around 3 lakh healthcare workers at 2,934 session sites on the first day of the inoculation drive.
The drive will be held daily from 9 am to 5 pm, except on the days earmarked for routine immunization programs.
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Friday termed the country’s vaccination drive as the “beginning of the end of Covid-19.” He also urged people to trust the indigenously manufactured vaccine, saying the government has given emergency use approval after proper scientific scrutiny.
The central government has introduced an application named CoWIN (Covid Vaccine Intelligence Work) to monitor the entire vaccination process.
In the next phases of the vaccination drive, people aged over 50 will be vaccinated and those who are below 50 years but have serious health conditions or co-morbidities, according to the health ministry.
There have been dry-runs at vaccination centers across the country with lakhs of healthcare staff across districts trained.