Prime Minister Modi’s Christmas address to the nation : Important Points

On December 25th, the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed the nation and shared some important announcements. The highlights of this address are:

A. 90% of India’s adult population has got at least one dose of vaccination and 61% is now fully vaccinated. We have administered 1,410 million vaccinations or 141 crore doses.

B. India has 18 lakh isolation beds, 5 lakh oxygen supported beds, 1,40,000 ICU beds, and 90,000 pediatric beds (ICU and non ICU). We also have 3,000 oxygen plants working. 4 lakh oxygen cylinders have been distributed across the country. States are being asked to keep buffer stocks of medication and they are being supported in getting more testing kits.

C. Children aged 15-18 can start getting vaccinated from January 3rd, 2022.

D. Frontline workers will get a precaution dose from January 10th, 2022. Senior citizens with co-morbidities can also get a precaution dose on the advice of their doctor from January 10th, 2022. Senior citizens do not need to show a prescription to get this dose. This dose can be taken by anyone whose second dose was 39 weeks/ 9 months ago.

The Prime Minister also praised the healthcare workers of India for their achievement in going to remote villages and ensuring vaccination. He also highlighted that all Covid Management steps that India took were based on the recommendations of scientists. This includes when vaccination should start, who should get it first, what the dosage interval should be, et al.

The country started its vaccination program on January 16th this year. It was one of the first countries to produce its own vaccine. In addition to research on the vaccine itself, India also worked on approval process, supply chain (how a medicine reaches from the factory to the end user), distribution, training, IT support system, certification, etc., so that the entire vaccination + certification program can be done at scale (for many people in a short time).

You can read the full text of the announcement here:

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1785214