Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday described the COVID-19 vaccines as ‘Sanjivani’ in the fight against the infectious disease as he urged people not to pay heed to hearsay and instead believe in experts and scientists. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the world’s largest vaccination programme covering the entire length and breadth of the country and urged people to show patience during the COVID-19 immunisation drive as they had shown till now in fighting the pandemic.
“It’s a historic day. We have been blessed by the prime minister all through our fight against COVID-19. It’s the largest coronavirus vaccination programme in the world,” Vardhan told reporters at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).
“We have been able to put up a valiant fight against the disease during the last one year. Adopting a preemptive and proactive strategy has resulted in a very good performance by India. We have probably the lowest fatality rate in the world,” he said.
Thanking all, including doctors, nurses, healthcare staff, security personnel and journalists, who have been at the frontline in the fight against the pandemic, the minister said they ensured India reaches the stage when vaccine gets delivered to the people.
The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) had earlier this month approved Oxford COVID-19 vaccine Covishield, manufactured by the Serum Institute, and indigenously developed Covaxin of Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country.