india's kovit 19 vaccination program is
getting underway
the country aims to inoculate one
quarter of its 1.3 billion people
by july the vaccines both made in india
have been approved for emergency use
prime minister narendra modi said
healthcare and other frontline workers
will be among the first
to get the shot india has recorded over
10 million cases of the virus
the second highest number in the world
after the united states
the moment many indians have waited for
one of the biggest vaccine rollouts in
the world
the government plans to reach around 300
million people
by july
[Applause]
carried live on national tv prime
minister narendra modi
addressed the nationwide video
conference saying every willing indian
can get a shot by the end of the year
speaking directly to the country's
health workers modi promised they would
have priority
the first vaccine will go to those who
need it most
those who must risk catching the disease
they will get the first jabs
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india has approved the emergency use of
two vaccines
neither which requires ultra cold
storage
with over 10 million infections india
has recorded the second highest number
of kovit 19
infections in the world after the united
states
of course it's a positive thing we have
been going through this pandemic for a
long time now
and i think it's really high time that
we got the vaccine but i mean it's it's
going to take some time for everyone to
for everyone to reach the vaccine to
reach everyone vaccinations
we shall also get it our work and
livelihood has been affected
because of the coronavirus
india has a lot of experience with mass
vaccinations
each year tens of millions of children
are treated for other diseases
through a nationwide immunization
program
it is this system the government now
hopes will help them fight one of the
biggest health emergencies
the country have ever faced
for more i'm now joined by our daily
bureau chief amrita shima
and rita great to see you with more than
a billion people india's vaccination
program
will be one of the world's largest how
is it going so far
you know anthony there's a great sense
of excitement in the country today
in what is being described as the
vaccination day
now the prime minister narendra modi
launched the vaccination day
with an emotional tribute to health care
workers
he said at a time when the country was
in great despair and people were losing
their loved ones it was these health
workers who gave us
hope now modi also praised india
scientists
and said that they had actually brought
out two
made in india vaccines as he called them
which were
launched today in terms of preparation
now india's been preparing for this day
for several weeks there were many dry
runs across the country they were
preparation drills
and of course india is used to
organizing big events we have elections
here every five years
and that's a huge logistical exercise
and as well as the national immunization
program
which is being used as a platform for
this vaccination drive
and from the dry runs to the real thing
itself how is the rollout going to look
in these
critical early weeks who will get
priority
the priorities being given to healthcare
workers in fact the first person
to get the jab was a sanitation worker
in his early 30s
at the all india medical institute in
delhi
the first priority will be there for the
health workers followed
then by what are called frontline
workers that's members of the armed
forces the police
and other paramilitary organizations
associated
with the government after that you have
people who are above
50 who will get the vaccination and
people who are under 50 but who are
deemed to be
at risk from this disease uh amrita
india is far from alone but it does
remain one of the worst affected
countries worldwide are there any signs
the country has made
progress in the pandemic you know
anthony it is clear that india is the
second most affected country by this
pandemic but in recent
months things have been improving the
number of cases and new infections
has gone down dramatically the number of
recoveries
has increased but at the same time the
government
and healthcare officials are warning
people not to let their guard
down the virus is still very much in the
country and they're asking people to
stay
vigilant they're asking them to maintain
social distancing wearing masks all the
time
and washing their hands but on the whole
some people are describing the start of
this vaccination drive
as the beginning of the end of the
pandemic in india
delhi bureau chief amrita chuma thank
you so much
okay now for a look at some of the other
developments in the pandemic
and pfizer will slow the delivery of its
vaccine to eu countries in the coming
weeks as it upgrades production capacity
at its plant in belgium but the
drugmaker says all
doses ordered by the block for the first
quarter will be delivered on time
coronavirus infections have spiked in
mexico where over 21 000 new cases
registered on friday
that is about twice the number of a week
earlier
the country also registered more than 1
100 covid19 deaths
china has blamed a recent coronavirus
outbreak on cases from overseas
the country has seen clusters of
infections in beijing and
surrounding provinces