Published 15:32 IST, March 1st 2021
Shah Faesal lauds PM Modi for doing his 'constitutional duty' by taking the COVID vaccine
Lauding PM Modi for doing his 'constitutional duty' by getting the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (COVAXIN), Shah Faesal urged people to get vaccinated
Lauding PM Modi for doing his 'constitutional duty' by getting the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine (COVAXIN), ex-IAS officer Shah Faesel on Monday pointed that Article 51A of the Constitution expects people to 'develop scientific temper' and have 'faith in what scientists are telling'. Faesel - who was a Modi critic - has now changed his tune often lauding the Prime Minister for his COVID handling, his Mann Ki Baat etc. Faesal who became the first Kashmiri to top the Indian Civil Services Examination, had quit civil services and launched a political party - Jammu Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) in January 2019.
Shah Faesal lauds PM Modi
PM Modi receives Covid-19 vaccine
Kicking off phase-2 of India's COVID vaccination programme, Prime Minister Modi received his first jab of the vaccine on Monday at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi. Sporting an Assamese Gamcha, PM Modi sent a political signal to poll-bound states, getting jabbed by nurses- Sister Niveda & sister Rosamma hailing from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu respectively. After the jab, he appealed all those citizens eligible for the jab to get vaccinated.
Phase 2 of the vaccination drive begins
The second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination program started at over 10,000 designated government facilities and 20,000 private hospitals and vaccination centers on Monday. While the first phase of the Coronavirus vaccination drive focused on healthcare and frontline workers, the second phase is dedicated to those above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with co-morbidities - registered on CO-WIN website, which went live at 9:00 AM, March 1. The Union Ministry announced that the pricing for a COVID-19 vaccine dose has been capped at Rs 250 at private hospitals. Meanwhile, like the first phase, doses will be available free of cost at government centers with the Centre bearing the cost of the inoculation.
On January 3, Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) VG Somani announced that the vaccines of Serum Institue of India (Covishield) and Bharat Biotech (Covaxin) have been granted permission for restricted use in an emergency situation. Covishield - a Recombinant Chimpanzee Adenovirus vector vaccine - has an efficacy of 70.42%, with interim safety and immunogenicity data of Phase-II/III trials submitted to the SEC. Covaxin - a Whole Virion Inactivated Corona Virus Vaccine - 22,500 participants vaccinated in Phase-III trials and was found to be safe as per the data available till date. Meanwhile, Zydus-Cadilla's nCov-Vaccine using DNA platform technology has been allowed to conduct Phase-III clinical trial in 26000 Indian participants. Apart from these vaccines, another vaccine candidate - Sputnik V - produced by Russian government-Dr. Reddy's Labs has applied for emergency use and Bharat Biotech has sought to conduct phase-1 trials of nasal COVID-19 vaccine.
Updated 15:32 IST, March 1st 2021