Carry momentum forward, ensure pace of testing doesn't go down: PM Modi at Covid-19 vaccination review meet

The prime minister's office said in a statement that 3.77 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses have been administered in the last six days

Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked officials to ensure there is no dip in the momentum of vaccination and the pace of testing, days after the government expressed confidence that it will have enough doses to fully vaccinate the country's adult population by the end of December, during a high-level review meeting here on Saturday.

128 districts in the country have vaccinated more than 50 per cent of the 45-above population, while 16 districts have vaccinated more than 90 per cent of the same population, Modi said.

The Prime Minister, who held a high-level meeting to review the progress of vaccination, expressed satisfaction at the rising speed of vaccinations this week and stressed that it is important to carry this momentum forward.

The meeting noted that 3.77 crore doses have been administered in the last 6 days, which is more than the entire population of countries like Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Canada.

Officials briefed the Prime Minister about the age-wise vaccination coverage as well as coverage among healthcare, frontline workers and the general population in various states.

The vaccine supply in the upcoming months and efforts being made to increase production were also discussed in the meeting during which officers told the PM that they were in touch with state governments to explore and implement innovative methods to reach people for vaccination.

Modi underlined the need to involve NGOs and other organisations in such efforts and asked the officers to work with the states to ensure that the pace of testing does not go down as testing remains a very important weapon to track & contain rising infections in any region.

After officers told the PM about the rising interest in Cowin platform globally, Modi said that efforts should be made to help all countries who have expressed interest with India’s rich tech expertise in the form of Cowin platform.