Govt to identify 23% of the population for administering 60 crore vaccine doses initially
While assurances are being given in public rallies of free distribution of vaccines in Bihar to crores of its population by the ruling party BJP led NDA making it, its main point of the election menifesto, in a bid to entice electorates in its favour, annoying the anti BJP opposition parties like Congress n RJD etc at the pan India level – the union government is making efforts to identify thirty crore people, at least 23% population of the country to inject the anti Covid vaccine in the initial phase with the union finance minister Dr. Nirmala Sitaraman revealing that the vaccine may be available in the month of December allegedly resulting in raising of objections by certain health experts of repute of desperate announcements, for political gains.
In a meeting held earlier this week under the chairmanship of the union health minister Dr. Harshvardhan, a unanimous decision has been taken in the group of ministers on Covid 19 to identify over 23% of population at the pan India level to deliver sixty crore doses of the vaccine in the initial phase to thirty crore beneficiaries which also include those above fifty years of age n also with various comorbiditis including the health care workers, frontline workers, police, doctors, paramedics n municipal employees etc.
In India though several pharmaceutical companies are on the job to invent anti Covid vaccines including over 150 vaccine candidates worldwide, but three vaccines are majorly near to completion stage with third human trials in progress having been given due permission by the Drugs controller of India.
According to the latest reports, at present there are majorly three vaccines candidates undergoing human trials in India viz Biotech Hyderabad’s Covaxin, Oxford AteraZeneca anti Covid vaccine and Puna based Seerum Institute. These companies are undergoing third stage of human trials on thousands of people. The Indian government n even the union finance minister Dr. Nirmal Sitaraman have unambiguously committed that these vaccines will come in the market by December or in the initial months of 2021.
The BJP led NDA has even committed it’s assurances to inject the vaccine free of cost to all the electorates of Bihar even mentioning it in its election menifesto creating lot of controversies.
According to a story filed in TOI the shots, which include the booster doses are planned for the initial phase, once the vaccine is approved for use. The list has four catagories – around fifty to seventy lakh health professionals, over two crore front line workers, including police, municipal workers and armed forces, about 26 crore persons above fifty years of age and another set aged, less than fifty but with comorbiditis.
The group led by the Niti Ayog member Dr. Niti Paul and co chaired by the union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan have drafted a detailed plan in coordination with the national expert group on vaccine administration for Covid 19 after receiving the inputs from central agencies and the states. In India currently, there are about 77 lakh Covid 19 cases with I17 thousand mortalities.
