India has been undertaking the world’s largest vaccination drive. In less than three months, we have managed to provide more than 100 million doses across the country, which is more than the population of Germany. The country has already achieved one of the highest daily vaccinations per day across the globe with 4.3 million vaccinations, which is close to the population of New Zealand. India has also achieved the fastest rate of reaching the 100 million vaccination milestone, ahead of the United States (US) and China. Our daily vaccination rates are also among the highest in the world. This doesn’t mean that there is no scope for improvement. Of course, we need to expand capacity and continue innovating, which has been our approach throughout the pandemic.
When I saw an editorial with five questions on India’s vaccination strategy in this newspaper on Thursday, I was surprised. It seems that the recent bug of fact-free opinion has transcended Twitter and entered the editorials of a venerable newspaper such as HT.
In the beginning, there are two insinuations — first, that there is a vaccine crunch, and, second, that everyone immediately needs a vaccine. We must understand that vaccines are a scarce commodity in the world. They are not like candies which can be manufactured, supplied, and consumed any time and anywhere. That is why India, as well as other countries, decided to prioritise groups which are vulnerable. The primary purpose of vaccination is mortality reduction and decreasing the burden on the health care system. This was laid down by the government in 2020 itself.
Read More at https://www.hindustantimes.com/opinion/indias-vaccine-strategy-is-based-on-science-101618151672725-amp.html
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