After Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolled out the nationwide coronavirus immunisation programme, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) chief Dr Randeep Guleria came forward to take the COVID-19 vaccine. Dr Guleria was the third person to take the shot. Before him, a sanitation worker named Manish Kumar was the first one to get vaccinated, followed by a healthcare worker named Sulochana Kataria.
Prime Minister Modi had proclaimed in his address that the vaccination drive in India is "historic" as there are more than 100 countries globally with less than 3 crore population and India is inoculating 3 crore people in the first phase alone. The Prime Minister also said, "The start of the vaccination does not mean people should stop following the Covid protocols of wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. We must take another vow - Dawai bhi, Kadaai bhi."
Modi also said that Indian vaccines are much cheaper as compared to international variants, adding that some international vaccines require storage temperatures of -70 degrees Celsius. During the first phase of the coronavirus immunisation programme priority shall be given to health care workers who come under the 'high-risk' group.
Meanwhile, UNICEF has congratulated the Union Health Ministry for inauguration of the world's largest vaccination drive against COVID-19. The UN body tweeted, "Congratulations to @MoHFW_India, all the health workers and teams across India on the #LargestVaccineDrive. All systems are in place, let's come #TogetherAgainstCOVID19"
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