Union minister Javadekar says in response to Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the current rate of vaccination
A medic screens a child admitted at a Covid-19 care centre, in Sangli, on Friday. Pics/PTI
Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said the anti-Coronavirus immunisation exercise in India will be completed before the end of this year. He was responding to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Covid-19 management and the slow pace of vaccination in the country. Javadekar also referred to the Union health minister’s statement from last week stating that India will be in a position to immunise at least all of its adult population by end of 2021.
Gandhi held Modi’s “theatrics” responsible for the second Covid-19 wave and warned of more waves to come at the current rate of vaccination. The government launched the vaccination campaign in January with a goal of inoculating 30 crore of India’s nearly 140 crore people by August. But, as per the latest data, India has vaccinated 4.24 crore people, i.e. 3.1 per cent of its population, according to the OurWorldInData.
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Beneficiaries wait in a long queue to receive Covid-19 vaccine at a govt-run hospital, at Bolpur, West Bengal, on Friday
Gandhi said if the vaccination is at 50-60 per cent of the population, India would not have a third wave. “The problem is... the PM doesn’t think strategically. He is an event manager” Asserting that the more space you leave for the virus, the more dangerous it will become, he said Modi and his government have still not understood the virus and that is why they have no strategy. Gandhi said the PM created space for Covid-19 to spread through his actions.
Also Read: Mumbai: Covid-19 vaccination opens for students headed abroad for studies
Doctors check a Covid-19 infected child at Jawaharlal Nehru hospital in Ajmer on Friday. Pic/PTI
Speaking to reporters, Javadekar noted that the health ministry had recently given a roadmap about producing 216 crore doses by December and how 108 crore people will be vaccinated, as he rebutted Gandhi’s claim that it may take three years to finish the vaccination exercise. He said India is set to see a big jump in vaccination from August. Meanwhile, a total of 1,86,364 new cases were reported in a day, the lowest in around 44 days, and 3,660 deaths, showed government data updated at 8 am on Friday.
1,86,364
No. of new cases India reported on Friday morning
31 per cent
India’s population vaccinated in past 5 months
An easy, gargling test for Covid-19
The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) has developed a simple and fast method of sample collection and processing for RT-PCR Coronavirus test. The Saline Gargle RT-PCR method uses a simple collection tube filled with saline solution, said a senior scientist. The patient gargles the solution and rinses it inside the tube. This sample is taken to the lab for testing. The Nagpur civic body has given the nod, and testing has begun at NEERI.
BJP MLA from UP backs Ramdev
Uttar Pradesh BJP MLA Surendra Singh has backed Ramdev for his anti-allopathy remarks, and termed him a flag bearer of the Indian medicine system. “Those robbing society by making the present medical system expensive are giving lessons on morality. People who sell tablets worth R10 for R100 in the field of allopathy are criminals, not well-wishers of society,” he posted on Facebook. Meanwhile, a health worker was suspended and a medical officer transferred after 20 villagers in Siddharthnagar, UP, were given Covaxin after getting Covishield as their first dose.
Fix wastage data: J’khand to Centre
The Jharkhand government has shot off a letter to the Centre seeking rectification of vaccine wastage data. A Dodde, state’s nodal office for vaccination, on Friday said CoWIN portal till May 27 erroneously showed state’s wastage data at 38.45 per cent, whereas the accurate data is below 4.63 per cent.
Centre creating ‘artificial scarcity’ of vaccines: AAP
The AAP on Friday alleged that the Centre is creating an “artificial scarcity” of Covid-19 vaccines to benefit Bharat Biotech and Serum Institute of India. Delhi BJP called the claim“unfounded”. AAP spokesperson Atishi on Friday said the government’s vaccine drive has stopped in schools and this is the case throughout the country. “At government centres where vaccination was free, there is a shortage, while vaccines are being given at private hospitals at higher prices,” she alleged. She questioned the Centre over not giving emergency approval to more vaccines.
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