GUWAHATI: Come January 16 and India to being its covid vaccine drive.
The announcement came on Saturday, hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a high-level meeting with senior officials to review the Covid situation in the country and finalise vaccine roll-out details.
The Prime Minister termed it as a “landmark” step forward in fighting COVID-19.
The health ministry said that the priority will be given to around one crore healthcare workers and two crore frontline staff, like doctors, community health workers and police, who are directly involved in fighting the pandemic.
The roll-out of COVID-19 vaccine will provide priority to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers who are estimated to be around 3 cr, followed by those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 cr. Altogether some 30 crore people will be vaccinated in the first phase.
Prime Minister Modi tweeted: “On 16th January, India takes a landmark step forward in fighting COVID-19. Starting that day, India’s nationwide vaccination drive begins. Priority will be given to our brave doctors, healthcare workers, frontline workers including safai karamcharis.”
Earlier this week, the health ministry said its CoWIN app (short for Covid Vaccine Intelligence Network) and ecosystem would be used to manage the massive vaccination drive.
Read More: Opinion: Taking a cue
