PM Modi gives big clue on India's Covid vaccine rollout plan; digital health ID in tandem?

Asserting that the future will be shaped by societies that invest in science and innovation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday cited India's handling of COVID-19 to state that the country's scientific institutions are its "greatest assets" and have done "wonders" in tackling the disease. He said that India has one of the highest recovery rates--88%--because it was one of the first countries to adopt a flexible lockdown.

'India kept its COVID-19 death rate very low'

In his virtual keynote address at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting, PM Modi said India is now at the forefront of vaccine development for COVID-19 and that some of the vaccine candidates are in advanced stages of the trial.

The Prime Minister said, "India's size, scale and diversity have always made the global community curious. Our population is almost four times that of the USA. Many of our states are as populated as other nations in Europe and Asia. Thanks to people power and people-driven approach, India kept its COVID-19 death rate very low."

"Today we are seeing a decline in the number of cases per day and in the growth rate of cases. India has one of the highest recovery rates--88 per cent. This happened because India was one of the first countries to adopt a flexible lockdown when the total cases were just a few hundred," he added.

Speaking of the country's efforts for immunisation of its citizens against COVID-19, he said India is already working on putting a robust vaccine delivery system in place and its digitized network, along with the new digital health ID, will be used to ensure its success.

'It helps the poor & underprivileged'

"We have made many interventions which are contributing to a better healthcare system. Take sanitation. Improved cleanliness. More toilet coverage. Who does this help the most? It helps the poor and underprivileged. It leads to a reduction in diseases," he said. The country is also running the world's largest health insurance scheme, he added.

The 2020 summit, being convened virtually from October 19-21, brings together policymakers and scientific leaders, calling for deepened scientific collaborations in solving global health problems, with great emphasis on COVID-19 with an "India for the World" framing.

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The three-day event will feature leaders talks, panel discussions and virtual informal conversations on topics ranging from scientific interventions for fighting the pandemic, managing the pandemic and accelerating the development and implementation of global solutions to combat this pandemic and prevent the next one. Approximately 1600 people from 40 countries are participating in this meeting.

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It is being co-hosted by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, the Indian Council of Medical Research and NITI Aayog, along with the Grand Challenges Canada, the United States Agency for International Development and Wellcome.

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Grand Challenges India was set up as a partnership of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2012, and Wellcome also joined the partnership. Grand Challenges India works across a range of health and developmental priorities ranging from agriculture, nutrition, sanitation, maternal and child health to infectious diseases.

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(With agency inputs)