Today Is An Important Day: PM As India Starts COVID Vaccination Of 12-14 Age Group

Mumbai: As India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign expands to children in the age group 12-14, and those above 60 also become eligible for the precautionary dose, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged people in these age groups to get vaccinated.

The Corbevax vaccine manufactured by Hyderabad-based Biological E will be administered to children in the age group of 12-14 years from today.

Meanwhile, the co-morbidity clause has been removed to give a precautionary dose to people above 60 years of age and all people above 60 years of age can be given a precautionary dose from today.

“Today is an important day in India’s efforts to vaccinate our citizens. Now onwards, youngsters in the 12-14 age group are eligible for vaccines and all those above 60 are eligible for precaution doses. I urge people in these age groups to get vaccinated,” the Prime Minister tweeted.

PM Modi also reiterated that India’s vaccination drive is backed by “science.” “India’s vaccination drive, which is the largest in the world, is science-driven. We began work to create vaccines in early 2020, to protect our citizens and strengthen our fight against the pandemic,” he further said.

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Sharing the journey of India’s vaccination campaign in a series of tweets, the Prime Minister recalled that he had visited three vaccine manufacturers in late 2020 to get first-hand details before the vaccination campaign began in January 2021.

“The manner in which our scientists, innovators and the private sector rose to the occasion is commendable. In late 2020, I had visited three of our vaccine manufacturers and got firsthand details of their efforts to protect our citizens,” the Prime Minister said.

“In January 2021, we began our vaccination drive for doctors, healthcare and frontline workers. The aim was to ensure those at the forefront of the fight against COVID get proper protection at the earliest,” he added.

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In March 2021, vaccination opened to people over 60 and people over 45.

Later, vaccination was opened to everyone above the age of 18. This should make every Indian proud that vaccines are free for those who want it, PM Modi said. He also said that vaccination has created a “protective shield” against COVID-19.

“Today, India has administered over 180 crore doses, which includes over 9 crore doses in the age group of 15-17 and over 2 crore precaution doses. This forms an important protective shield for our citizens against COVID-19,” PM Modi said.

Speaking about our hesitation to introduce vaccines in other countries, the Prime Minister said that it is heartening to see the people of India taking their own vaccines and urging others to do the same.

“Over the last year, India’s vaccination drive has been people-powered. Unlike other nations where we are witnessing a lot of vaccine hesitancy, people here have not only taken their doses but also urged others to get vaccinated as soon as possible. This is heartening to see,” he said.

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Lauding state governments for supporting the vaccination drive, he said, “I would like to appreciate our state governments for their support towards India’s vaccination drive. Several states, especially the hill states and those where tourism is important, have achieved near total vaccination coverage and several big states have also done well.”

“In line with India’s ethos of caring for the entire planet, we sent vaccines to several nations under the Vaccine Maitri programme. I am glad that India’s vaccination efforts have made the global fight against COVID-19 stronger,” the Prime Minister said.

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He also urged people to keep following COVID’s appropriate behaviour to fight the pandemic.

“Today, India has many ‘Made in India’ vaccines. We have also granted approval to other vaccines after a due process of evaluation. We are in a much better position to fight this deadly pandemic. At the same time, we have to keep following all COVID related precautions,” he added.

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India has expanded its COVID-19 vaccination drive with the inclusion of children in the age group of 12-14 years starting on Wednesday while those aged above 60 years are also eligible now for the precaution dose.

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