Bihar minister Ram Surat Rai on Friday heaped praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for providing free Covid vaccine to all and credited him for saving millions of lives.

Showering praise on PM Modi, the BJP leader also claimed that the people are alive today because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, under whose leadership India ran the world’s biggest vaccination drive during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Addressing a public gathering in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur, Rai said if Indians are alive, the credit goes to Narendra Modi. PM Modi developed Covid vaccine during pandemic and administered its free doses to people of the country, he said.

Bihar Minister also said several countries are still battling the economic impact of the pandemic, but in India, the work is being done at a fast pace to strengthen the economy.

In his speech, Rai also praised PM Modi and applauded the regulatory reforms and supportive nature of the central government throughout the vaccination drive.

Taking a dig at Pakistan’s vaccination drive, the Bihar Minister said when India’s neighbouring Pakistan was struggling due to Covid-19, PM Modi started vaccination drive in India and provided free vaccines for everyone.

As per the Health Ministry data India’s Covid-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 204.25 crore (2,04,25,69,509). India crossed the milestone of administering 200 crore Covid vaccination doses on July 17, eighteen months after the vaccination drive began in the country.

Ahead of Independence Day, the Central government has announced a special Covid vaccination drive to provide free vaccines to people aged 18 years and above from July 15 to September 30, 2022.

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The Central government on Friday issued SOPS for the Covid-19 vaccination drive and said getting vaccinated will be voluntary. The Union Health Ministry has also underlined that the vaccine introduced in India will be equally effective when compared to vaccines developed by other countries.

The government said the country is gearing up to launch a vaccine soon. The ministry said vaccine trials are under observation and going through different stages of finalisation.

The ministry listed a series of frequently asked questions on Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday night and also responded to the questions.

It was advisable to receive a complete schedule of Covid vaccine irrespective of past history of infection with Covid-19 as this will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease. It also said that protective level of antibodies generally develop two weeks after receiving the second dose.

Six Covid vaccines have been developed across the globe and some are under trials. On the question of safety and efficacy, the ministry said vaccines will be introduced in the country only after the regulatory bodies clear it based on its safety and efficacy.

Responding to the FAQs, the Ministry said Covid-19 vaccine will be introduced only when the safety is proven. As is true for other vaccines, the common side effects in some individuals could be mild fever, pain, etc. at the site of injection. The ministry said the patients of cancer, diabetes and hypertension are considered high-risk category and they need to get vaccination.

In response to a question on whether the vaccine will be given to everyone simultaneously, the ministry said that based on the potential availability of vaccines, the government has selected priority groups to be vaccinated as they are at higher risk.

The eligible beneficiaries will be informed through their registered mobile numbers regarding the health facility where the vaccination will be provided and the scheduled time. Notably, the ministry said registration is mandatory for Covid vaccination.

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Following the online registration, beneficiary will receive SMS on their registered mobile number on the due date, place and time of vaccination.

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PM Narendra Modi on Friday held a virtual meeting with  top officials to discuss India’s vaccination strategy for Covid-19 and the way forward. During the meeting, issues related to progress of vaccine development, regulatory approvals and procurement were discussed, the prime minister informed on micro-blogging platform Twitter.

Several vaccines are in different stages of trial to prevent Covid-19 which has caused millions of deaths across the globe since its outbreak in Wuhan’s China last year.  Some of these vaccine have reported over 90% effectiveness. According to the government, in India five vaccines are in advanced stages of development. Many countries including Bangladesh, Qatar, Myanmar, South Korea, Bahrin, Switzerland, Bhutan and Austria have expressed interest  in partnering for vaccine development, the statement added. According to the statement, preparations are underway for administering the vaccine at the first available opportunity. These include preparing a database of  healthcare and frontline workers,  augmentation of cold chains and procurement of syringes, needles, etc.

Meanwhile, the third phase of human trials of India’s homemade vaccine covaxin have started in Odisha. Covaxin was administered to two recruits at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital. Oxford-Covid19 vaccine is another front runner in the race. Serum Institute of India’s CEO Adar Poonawalla has said that the vaccine would be available for healthcare workers and elderly people around February next year and by apriil for the general public. He said every Indian would hopefully be vaccinated by 2024. He said vaccine’s two doses will cost around Rs 1000. He added that the vaccine had so far produced great results and seemed to be working even on elderly people, which was a concern earlier.

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India’s covid-19 tally touched the 90-lakh mark with 45,882 new infection in past 24 hours. Currently there are  4,43,794 active cases in the country.

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Close on the heels of the BJP’s polls promise of free coronavirus vaccine in Bihar, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami became the first non-BJP leader to announce a similar scheme for the people of the state. The Chief Minister said once the vaccine is ready, it will be provided to people of the state free of cost. Tamil Nadu is to go in for Assembly elections in April-May next year.

Earlier today, the BJP promised to offer a free coronavirus vaccination as part of its manifesto for the Bihar Assembly election 2020. The BJP’s announcement of providing free coronavirus vaccination in Bihar has become the centre of debate on social media. BJP’s announcement did not quite go well with the opposition that alleged it is an attempt to use the vaccine for its political agenda.

Last week, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan announced that the government was hoping to get a vaccine early next year from more than one source. He also said the government and experts are formulating strategy on how to distribute the vaccine in the country. The government has so far not answered on the questions of coronavirus vaccine delivery and its pricing. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has held several meetings to oversee the government’s management for the storage and distribution of the vaccine.

As the country proceeds towards the winter season, experts said cooler weather is likely to worsen the coronavirus spread which may lead to a bigger wave of cases and deaths in the country.

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As per the Health Ministry data released on Thursday, India reported 55,838 coronavirus cases and 702 deaths in the last 24 hours. With this, the total number of infections rose to 77,06,946 while the fatalities surged to 1,16,616.

Tamil Nadu is the fifth worst-affected state by the coronavirus. Till Wednesday night, the Tamil Nadu authorities had conducted 91.9 lakh tests in the state.

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