Coronavirus vaccine: ‘When will India’s number come,’ Rahul Gandhi asks PM Modi
The Congress leader pointed out that major countries such as the US, the UK, Russia and China have already begun vaccination.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday asked why the Centre had not yet approved or finalised a deal for administering a coronavirus vaccine in the country, pointing out that other nations have already begun the immunisation process.
He shared a visual and said that 23 lakh people in the world have already received Covid vaccinations. “China, US, UK, Russia have started,” he said. “When will India’s number come, Modi ji?”
23 lakh people in the world have already received Covid vaccinations.
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 23, 2020
China, US, UK, Russia have started...
India ka number kab ayegaa, Modi ji? pic.twitter.com/cSmT8laNfJ
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While there has been no official confirmation on India’s vaccine programme, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said earlier this week that it is expected to begin by “any week” of January. The government has already identified 30 crore people, including healthcare workers and elderly people, who would receive the shot in the first phase of inoculation, Vardhan said.
The Covishield vaccine made by Serum Institute of India, which has partnered with British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, and Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research, are the two potential candidates that have applied for authorisation.
Besides, six more vaccine candidates are in various stages of clinical trials. The final call on the efficacy of a vaccine will be taken by the Drugs Controller General of India.
The United Kingdom began vaccinating people after it approved Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine earlier this month. The United States has cleared both Pfizer’s vaccine and that of Moderna. China has deployed Sinopharm’s coronavirus vaccine to inoculate its citizens against the virus, while Russia has deployed the Sputnik V vaccine, according to the Hindustan Times.
India’s coronavirus tally on Wednesday morning rose to 1,00,99,066 after 23,950 new cases were reported in 24 hours. The country’s toll went up by 333 to 1,46,444. As many as 96,63,382 people have recovered from the infection.
Globally, Covid-19 has infected more than 7.79 crore people and killed over 17 lakh in the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University. Over 4.36 crore people have recovered from the infection.