Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday said that preparation for a coronavirus vaccine was in the last stages and that people will soon get vaccines manufactured in India even as he cautioned against rumours about coronavirus vaccination.
“In 2020, there was a question mark from all sides due to Covid-19 pandemic. But 2021 is coming with the hope of a treatment for Covid-19,” said Modi after laying the foundation stone of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Gujarat’s Rajkot via videoconference.
He said that while he was hopeful that the way in which India fought unitedly against the infection, it would similarly work hard to make the vaccination programme successful.
“The country is preparing to undertake the world’s largest vaccination drive against the infection,” he said while cautioning people to not get carried away by rumours against vaccine.
Modi said: “In our country, rumours spread quickly. Different people, for their personal gains or due to irresponsible behaviour, spread various rumours.
“Maybe, the rumours will be spread when the vaccination drive begins; some have already begun,” the Prime Minister said.
He appealed to the people to refrain as responsible citizens from forwarding messages on the social media without checking.
The Prime Minister said that when India faced any problem, the entire nation united to help each other. “The way in which people took proper steps is the reason why we are in good a situation even amid the pandemic, despite a 1.3-billion population. More than one crore people have fought the pandemic and won.
“India’s record is much better than other countries in the fight against Covid-19.”
He said that the numbers of infections in India were going down. “India has emerged as the nerve centre of global health. In 2021, we have to strengthen India’s role in healthcare,” he said.
Modi said that ‘dawai bhi aur kadaai bhi’ should be our mantra for 2021. “Earlier, I said ‘dawai nahi toh dhilai nahi’ (no relaxation till no medicine). Now, I am saying ‘dawai bhi aur kadaai bhi’ (strictness even with medicine). Our mantra for 2021 is ‘dawai bhi aur kadaai bhi’.”
Pointing out that ‘health is wealth’, Modi said: “this year taught us this maxim. When there is any attack on health, it affects the family and the entire society comes in its grip.” The Prime Minister also said that it was time to remember on the last day of the outgoing year the frontline warriors who safeguarded people while risking their lives.
“I pay my humble tributes to all frontline warriors who lost their lives in the line of duty,” Modi said, adding that the country also paid tributes to scientists, workers, doctors involved in the fight against Covid-19 and those working tirelessly for developing a vaccine for coronavirus.
Later at a webinar, Dr VG Somani, Drug Controller General of India, hinted that approval for coronavirus vaccine in the country could come soon.
“Probably we will have a happy new year, with something in hand,” he said
Somani also said that the approval process for the vaccines was expedited by processing the applications quickly and allowing phase 1 and 2 trials simultaneously, without waiting for the complete data. “There has been no compromise on the safety of efficacy of the data,” he clarified. “The only thing is that the regulator has accepted partial data.”