COVID-19 vaccine to be first given to about 1 cr health workers: Govt at all-party meet

COVID-19 vaccine will be first given to about one crore health workers from both the public and private sectors, and then to about two crore frontline workers, the Union Health Ministry said in its presentation at the all-party meet on Friday, sources said.

The presentation was given by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan at the meeting, which was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

In its presentation, the ministry said that COVID-19 vaccine will be first given to about one crore health workers, including doctors and nurses, the sources said.

Thereafter, it will be given to about two crore frontline workers such as police and armed forces personnel, and municipal workers, among others, they said.

Floor leaders from all parties in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha have been invited to attend the virtual meeting which started around 10:30 am.

The sources said that 13 leaders from prominent political parties having five or more than five MPs, spoke at the meeting.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad will speak on behalf of the Congress at the meet, they said.

Sudip Bandyopadhyay from the TMC, Sharad Pawar of the NCP, Nama Nageswara Rao from the TRS and Vinayak Raut from the Shiv Sena, among others, will also speak during the meeting, the sources said.

This will be the second all-party meeting called by the government to discuss the COVID-19 situation since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Home Minister Amit Shah, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan are present in the meeting.

Besides them, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi and ministers of state in the same ministry Arjun Ram Meghwal and V Muraleedharan, who reached out to floor leaders for the meeting, will also be a part of it.

The presentation by Bhushan explains India's fight against the pandemic so far.

The meeting also assumes significance as it is being held after Prime Minister Modi's visit to pharmaceutical companies in Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune to review coronavirus vaccine development work there.