India Planning Big Celebrations on Reaching 100 Crore Vaccine Landmark

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Oct 14: Even while trying to dig into the origin of the Coronavirus and called for international cooperation which draws China’s ire, India is learnt to planning big celebrations as the country crosses the landmark of administering 100 crore vaccine doses in the next few days.

The health ministry sources said every possible platform would be used to announce the achievement including announcing the feat over the public address systems at every railway station, in trains, planes, ships and every other mode of public transport. National flag will be hoisted at the Red Fort as well as the central government secretariat buildings in the national capital and other government buildings.

The milestone is expected to be hit in the next few days with some 75 percent of those eligible have already been administered one shot and around 30 percent double vaccinated, as per the sources. According to the CoWIN dashboard, 97 crore doses have been administered so far. Nearly 27 lakh doses have been administered so far with more than 50 per cent of those (around 15 lakh) being the second dose.

The government has also laid out a plan to showcase the milestone as a major achievement in its COVID-19 fight. The BJP has asked its ministers, MPs and MLAs, and national and state functionaries to attend events in pockets across the country, sources in the party have said.

The sources earlier said the immunisation exercise has slightly slowed down due to the festivals of Durga Puja and Navratri. The government now plans to step up the exercise after Dussehra to reach the 100 crore mark at the earliest.

India is the world’s largest vaccine producer but the country halted exports of Covid jabs earlier this year to focus on its domestic needs after a devastating infections surge overwhelmed hospitals.

In an apparent move to embarrass China, India on Thursday that it has an interest in further studies and data on the origin of the coronavirus and called for cooperation by all concerned. “We have our interest in further studies and data on the issue of the origin of the virus…need for understanding and cooperation by all concerned,” the external affairs ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi said during a weekly briefing.

He was asked about the World Health Organization announcing the formation of a scientific advisory group aimed at identifying the origins of COVID-19 and other emerging and re-emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential. The first case of COVID-19 was reported from Wuhan in China.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced proposed members of the WHO Scientific Advisory Group for the Origins of Novel Pathogens (SAGO). The SAGO will advise WHO on the development of a global framework to define and guide studies into the origins of emerging and re-emerging pathogens of epidemic and pandemic potential, including SARS-CoV-2. SAGO will include 26 scientists from the US, China and some other countries to find out how the novel coronavirus first infected humans.

China had earlier failed short of cooperating with the international community in tracing the origin of Coronavirus when the WHO-sponsored scientists from various countries visited China last year. The team’s some of the findings that the virus may have “escaped” from a lab in Wuhan has also been rejected by China.

Meanwhile, India has resumed vaccine export to its neighbouring countries as a gesture of friendship bonds. Bagchi said Coronavirus vaccines have been sent to Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Iran according to the government’s decision to resume their supplies. He said the government has decided to send the supplies to the neighbourhood initially.

India, the world’s largest producer of vaccines overall, suspended exports of COVID-19 vaccines in April to focus on inoculating its own population following a sudden spike in infections. Last month, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had announced that India would resume the supplies abroad.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi said recently at the UN General Assembly that India will resume supply of coronavirus vaccines. We have decided to start with the neighbourhood,” Bagchi said. “As far as I know, vaccines have already gone to Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Iran. We are constantly monitoring and reviewing the situation,” he said.

Bagchi said the decision on further supplies will be based on India’s production and demand. “We will decide on further supplies based on our production and demand,” he said.