NEW DELHI (INDIA) – When scientists give the green signal, India is ready to commercially produce coronavirus vaccines, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech on Saturday.
The celebrations at the iconic Red Fort in New Delhi were scaled down because of the pandemic. He said health and economic self-reliance were the top priorities of his government.
“Not one, not two, as many as three coronavirus vaccines are being tested in India,” he said his address from the ramparts of the 17th-century fort sporting a flowing orange and white headgear and covering his mouth with a scarf of the same colours whenever anyone came close to him during the event.
“Along with mass-production, the roadmap for distribution of vaccine to every single Indian in the least possible time is also ready,” Modi said.
The soldiers who welcomed the prime minister during the event had been quarantined days before. Only 4,000 guests were allowed to witness the function and they were made to sit six feet apart. Medical kiosks had been set up and ambulances were deployed to take any invitee showing symptoms of the virus.
In his seventh Independence Day address, Modi launched a National Digital Health Mission which records every health test, disease and medication to be kept under a health ID.
“Whether it is making a doctor’s appointment, depositing money or running around for documents in the hospital, the mission will help remove all such challenges,” he said.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
