In the first phase, which got underway earlier this month, the target is 10 million healthcare workers, including Jani. Next are 20 million essential services workers, followed by 270 million people deemed susceptible to the coronavirus
Arduous task of packing vaccine vials to keep them at low temperatures for up to 3 days
1 of 14 Armed polilce stand guard at the state vaccine storage. From factory to faraway village: behind Indias mammoth vaccination drive In Bhubaneswar, capital of India s mineral rich but impoverished eastern state of Odisha, Authorities began the arduous task of counting and packing COVID-19 vaccine vials to keep them at between 2-8 degrees Celsius for up to three days. Image Credit: Reuters
2 of 14 A health department employee counts vials of the vaccine. It fell on veteran health department driver Lalu Porija, who had driven his delivery van all night to reach the storage site, to truck them some 500 kilometres back to Koraput, guarded by an armed policeman.
One Delhi hospital has set up a "selfie zone" for satisfied recipients to take photos. And vaccination centres have started playing light, soothing music in waiting rooms
January 22, 2021
A woman walks past a painting of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi a day before the inauguration of the COVID-19 vaccination drive on a street in Mumbai, India, January 15, 2021. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday India was completely self-reliant on coronavirus vaccine supplies as the world’s second-most populous country inoculated more than 1 million people within a week of starting its campaign.
On Saturday, India began what the government calls the world’s biggest vaccination programme, using two shots made locally: one licensed from Oxford University and AstraZeneca Plc, and another developed at home by Bharat Biotech in partnership with the state-run Indian Council of Medical Research.
India launches one of worldâs biggest Covid-19 vaccination campaigns
By Reuters
By Krishna N. Das and Mayank Bhardwaj
New Delhi - Sanitation worker Manish Kumar became the first person in India to be vaccinated against Covid-19 on Saturday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched one of the world s largest immunisation campaigns to bring the pandemic under control.
India is prioritising nurses, doctors and other frontline workers, and Modi had tears in his eyes as he addressed healthcare workers through video conferencing. The disease separated people from their families, kept mothers away from their children, and those who died of the disease couldn t even get a final goodbye from their families, Modi said.