Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the pan India rollout of the COVID vaccination drive on January 16 and all preparation are in place to initiate the programme. Over 3,000 sites across all states and Union Territories (UTs) will be virtually connected during the drive.
“The vaccination drive will be carried on principles of Jan Bhagidari and all arrangements have been made. 1,075 dedicated call centres have been established to address all queries related to the vaccine rollout and coronavirus pandemic,” the Prime Minister’s Office said on Thursday.
This will be the largest vaccination programme in the world and adequate doses of the two indigenous COVID-19 vaccines have been sent to all states and UTs with the support of the Aviation Ministry.
The pan-India rollout of the vaccination drive will be launched by PM Modi on January 16 at 10:30 AM via video conferencing. According to the statement issued by the PMO, around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each of 3,006 session sites.
All preparations in place to initiate COVID-19 vaccination programme on principles of Jan Bhagidari: PMO
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) January 14, 2021
Sources also said that the prime minister is likely to interact with some healthcare workers from across the country who will be receiving the shots on January 16 via video link. Officials of All India Institute of Medical Sciences and Safdarjung hospital in the national, which are among the shortlisted facilities, said they have made all arrangements for “a two-way communication”.
The PMO also said that the vaccination programme will be carried on principles of Jan Bhagidari and priority groups will be vaccinated first. Healthcare workers, both in the private and government sectors will receive the vaccine during this phase.
Earlier, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) granted emergency use authorisation to Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin.
