India's vaccination drive keeps gaining momentum: Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Noting that India’s Covid vaccination drive “keeps gaining” momentum, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday that “vaccines for all, free for all” remains the government’s commitment. Modi was reacting to a tweet of the Union Health Ministry that put out an infographic saying India has achieved another milestone as the total number of jabs administered here is more than in countries like the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Italy.

India administered 323.66 million doses by 8 am on Monday, it said. The prime minister said, “India’s vaccination drive keeps gaining momentum! Congrats to all those who are driving this effort. Our commitment remains vaccines for all, free for all.

On June 27, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his monthly Mann ki Baat broadcast had urged people to shed vaccine hesitancy and cited his example and of his nearly 100-year-old mother, both of whom are now fully vaccinated, to ask them to trust science and scientists.

Modi hailed the feat of administering over 86 lakh vaccine doses in a single day on June 21 at the start of the new phase of inoculation under which all adults are being given free jabs by the Union government. In the broadcast, with the National Doctors Day falling on July 1, Modi lauded the contribution of doctors in the corona period and said the day has become all the more special this time.