Prime Minister Narendra Modi coined a new slogan, advising people not to let their guard down and follow the coronavirus-related guidelines amid the pandemic, reported NDTV.
“I used to say ‘jab tak dawai nahi dhilai nahi [No let up till vaccination]’ but now our mantra for 2021 should be: Dawai bhi, kadaai bhi [yes to medicine and yes to caution],” the prime minister said, while laying down the foundation stone of All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Gujarat’s Rajkot city.
Modi said that the preparation of the vaccine against the coronavirus was in the last stage, a day after a subject expert committee reviewed three candidates. The prime minister also said that people will get a vaccine manufactured in India.
He lauded the efforts of the doctors, health workers, scavengers and other frontline workers fighting against the pandemic. “Bidding farewell to this year with a new health infrastructure reflects the difficulties we faced in 2020 and also stands for the hope we have for the year,” Modi said, according to the Hindustan Times. “The last day of 2020 is dedicated to all health workers who are putting their lives at stake to keep us safe.”
Modi also praised Gujarat for its handling of the coronavirus, saying the state has shown the path in fighting the pandemic. He said that the “robust medical infrastructure” helped the state tackle the pandemic, adding that two decades of effort, dedication and resolve were behind this success of Gujarat’s medical sector.
“We could only establish six AIIMS after so many years of Independence,” the prime minister said. “In 2003, Atalji’s government took the initiative to establish 6 more AIIMS. In the past six years, we have started work on establishing 10 more AIIMS.”
On the coronavirus situation in India, Modi said the country has fared better than the rest of the world even with a huge population. “India has fared much better than other countries in this field and the infection rate is also going down continuously,” the prime minister said.
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan were also present on the occasion.
On Wednesday, the Subject Expert Committee reportedly said that it will discuss the applications for the emergency use approval for the coronavirus vaccines filed by the Serum Institute of India, Bharat Biotech and Pfizer again on Friday.
India’s coronavirus tally rose to 1,02,66,674 on Thursday after 21,822 new cases cropped up in 24 hours. The country’s toll went up by 299 to 1,48,738. There are 2,57,656 active cases, and 98,60,280 people have recovered from the disease so far.
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