At 5 am on January 12, three temperature-controlled trucks arrived at the Pune airport. Police and airport security in tow, they took a special route on the runway for their consignments to be loaded onto nine flights. Heading to 13 cities across India, these flights carried 5.6 million doses of the Covishield vaccine between them. It was the first batch of the much-awaited protection against the Covid virus, the first shots of which will be administered to some 30 million Indians for free, beginning January 16.
“Covid cases in India are declining, which is a good sign. Our vaccination drive will further help reduce transmission of the virus. Both Covishield and Covaxin, the vaccines approved for emergency use in India, have met all safety criteria,” says Dr V.K. Paul, NITI Aayog member and chairman of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19. “In fact, 12 countries have approached us for Covid vaccines.” Dr Paul adds that after nearly 10 days of dry runs across 33 states and Union territories, the country is fully geared up to vaccinate its entire 1.3 billion population against Covid-19, in what will arguably be the largest immunisation programme in the world.
Denne historien er fra January 25, 2021-utgaven av India Today.
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Denne historien er fra January 25, 2021-utgaven av India Today.
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Shuttle Star
Ashwini Ponnappa was the only Indian to compete in the inaugural edition of BDMNTN-XL, a new international badminton tourney with a new format, held in Indonesia
There's No Planet B
All Living Things-Environmental Film Festival (ALT EFF) returns with 72 films to be screened across multiple locations from Nov. 22 to Dec. 8
AMPED UP AND UNPLUGGED
THE MAHINDRA INDEPENDENCE ROCK FESTIVAL PROMISES AN INTERESTING LINE-UP OF OLD AND NEW ACTS, CEMENTING ITS REPUTATION AS THE 'WOODSTOCK OF INDIA'
A Musical Marriage
Faezeh Jalali has returned to the Prithvi Theatre Festival with Runaway Brides, a hilarious musical about Indian weddings
THE PRICE OF FREEDOM
Nikhil Advani’s adaptation of Freedom at Midnight details our tumultuous transition to an independent nation
Family Saga
RAMONA SEN's The Lady on the Horse doesn't lose its pace while narrating the story of five generations of a family in Calcutta
THE ETERNAL MOTHER
Prayaag Akbar's new novel delves into the complexities of contemporary India
TURNING A NEW LEAF
Since the turn of the century, we have lost hundreds of thousands of trees. Many had stood for centuries, weathering storms, wars, droughts and famines.
INDIA'S BEATING GREEN HEART
Ramachandra Guha's new book-Speaking with Nature-is a chronicle of homegrown environmentalism that speaks to the world
A NEW LEASE FOR OLD FILMS
NOSTALGIA AND CURIOSITY BRING AUDIENCES BACK TO THE THEATRES TO REVISIT MOVIES OF THE YESTERYEARS