Covid vaccination of all eligible children at earliest priority Says PM Modi

PM Modi said on Wednesday that the government's objective is to have all eligible children vaccinated as soon as possible, and that specialised programmes will be held in schools to do so.

Modi stated during an interaction with chief ministers about the rising COVID-19 situation in the country that the threat of coronavirus is still present.

He emphasised the importance of remaining vigilant, citing an increase in COVID-19 instances in various states in the recent two weeks.

"Our scientists and experts are continuously monitoring the national and global situation. We have to work on their suggestions with a pre-emptive, pro-active and collective approach," he said.

Stopping the infection at the very beginning has been our priority as well and it should remain the same even today.

"We have to implement our strategy of Test, Track and Treat equally effectively. In the current situation of coronavirus, it is necessary that we have 100 per cent RT-PCR test for patients admitted in hospitals who are serious influenza cases.

Asserting that vaccination is the most effective defence against the virus, Modi stated that the government's aim is to have all eligible children vaccinated as soon as possible, and that specialised programmes will be implemented in schools.

He believes that parental and kid awareness is critical in this regard.

His comments came a day after Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that India's pharma authority had granted restricted emergency use permission for Biological E's COVID-19 vaccine Corbevax for children aged five to twelve, and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin for children aged six to twelve.

Modi also demanded that medical colleges and district hospitals expand their infrastructure and manpower.

Several chief ministers, including West Bengal's Mamata Banerjee, Chhattisgarh's Bhupesh Baghel, Delhi's Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab's Bhagwant Mann, participated in the interaction.

India recorded 2,927 fresh infections in a day which pushed the case tally to 4,30,65,496 while the active caseload increased to 16,279, according to Union Health Ministry data on Wednesday.

The death toll has climbed to 5,23,654 with 32 more fatalities, the data updated at 8 am stated.