Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched India’s vaccination drive against the novel coronavirus via video conferencing.
Billed as the world’s largest vaccination program covering the entire length and breadth of the country, the vaccination drive aims to first inoculate millions of its healthcare and frontline workers and reach an estimated 3 crore people by the end of its first phase.
A total of 3006 session sites across all states and union territories will be virtually connected during the launch. Around 100 beneficiaries will be vaccinated at each session site on an inaugural day, the union health ministry has said.
In the first phase, government and private-sector health care workers, including Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) workers, will receive the vaccine.
The drive will be held daily from 9 am to 5 pm, except on the days earmarked for routine immunization programs.
In the next phases of the vaccination drive, people aged over 50 and those who are below 50 years but have serious health conditions or comorbidities will be vaccinated, according to the health ministry.
