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In India, the world s biggest vaccine producer, millions of people are waiting for COVID-19 vaccines amid a devastating second wave of infections.
India typically produces more than 60 per cent of all vaccines sold globally, and is home to the Serum Institute of India (SII), the world s largest vaccine maker.
Its vast manufacturing capability is why the country signed on as a major player in COVAX, the global vaccine-sharing initiative that provides discounted or free doses for lower-income countries.
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In India, the world s biggest vaccine producer, people are waiting for COVID-19 vaccines amid a devastating second wave of infections.(AP)
Rahul Gandhi on Sunday suspended his election campaign in Bengal a few days after Congress president Sonia Gandhi wondered if political rallies should be cancelled in the wake of the menacing rise in Covid-19 infections.
Late on Sunday night, the Trinamul Congress said chief minister Mamata Banerjee would restrict her campaign in Calcutta to one day on April 26.
“Mamata Banerjee will not campaign in Kolkata anymore. Only one ‘symbolic’ meeting on the last day of campaigning in the city on April 26. Slashes time for all her election rallies in all districts. Restricted to just 30 minutes,” Trinamul leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O’Brien tweeted on Sunday night.
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. File
| Photo Credit:
PTI
He alleged that the statements by Congress leaders were behind ‘vaccine hesitancy’ in the country and that Congress-ruled States were ‘big contributors’ in the second wave. A day after former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ramp up vaccination efforts, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan alleged that the statements by Congress leaders were behind “vaccine hesitancy” in the country and accused Congress-ruled States to be “big contributors” in the second wave.
In his letter, Dr. Singh had suggested scaling up vaccination efforts, giving flexibility to State governments in deciding who needed to be vaccinated and expanding the number of vaccine producers by invoking compulsory licensing.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. | Chandan Khanna/AFP
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tested positive for the coronavirus on Monday, ANI reported. The 88-year-old Congress leader has been admitted to the trauma centre of the All India Institute Of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, an official from the hospital told the news agency.
Singh took a test for the coronavirus after suffering from fever, according to NDTV.
On Sunday, Singh had told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that ramping up India’s vaccination programme was essential to tackle the coronavirus crisis and offered several suggestions. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, however, dismissed the suggestions and said that Singh’s own party, the Congress, should first follow his advice.