Report by Tanya Singh:
Big boost coming in for India’s vaccine drive as Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin has shown interim efficacy of 81% after Phase 3 clinical trails. Second phase of vaccination drive was led from the front by none other than PM Narendra Modi when he took a jab of Covaxin. Following PM, whole host of MPs, CMs, ministers, top corporate CEOs, sports personalities, actors, celebrities queued up for a shot.
Meanwhile, to speed up the vaccination drive, the central government has now allowed all private hospitals to administer Covid-19 vaccines. It has also done away with the 9am to 5pm time limit for vaccination. Now, hospitals are free to carry out 24X7 vaccination. The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered since January 16 in the country crossed 1.63 crore on Wednesday evening, the Union Health Ministry said. ‘The government has lifted the time restriction to increase the speed of vaccination. People can now get vaccinated 24×7 according to their convenience.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the value of health as well as the time of citizens,’ Health Minister Harsh Vardhan tweeted in Hindi, a day after he got COVID-19 vaccine. President Ram Nath Kovind was administered the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine at an army hospital in the national capital on Wednesday. Several other prominent people including Union Minister Hardeep Puri, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Meghalaya Governor Satya Pal Malik and Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad also received their first jabs.