New Delhi: At a time when the country has started the third phase of vaccination drive, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria on Saturday said that the time has come to vaccinate more people at this crucial time. And he went on to add that the vaccination drive should gradually be opened up to cover people from the lower age groups. He, however, added that it needs to be balanced with the availability of vaccines.
“We are a very large country and if we were to say that we would want to vaccinate the entire adult population for which the vaccine has been currently approved, then that would mean close to one billion people. We will need two billion doses and there is no way that we could get two billion doses if we have to open it up for everyone,” Indian Express quoted Dr Randeep Guleria as saying.
According to a report on News 18, Dr Guleria said that there is a need to balance the vaccine availability with the number of people to be vaccinated on priority basis.
However, he said that if the vaccination trends fall after a week or 10 days, then the vaccination can be started for the lower age group in the country.
Guleria further added that AIIMS Delhi has started five vaccination sites and is receiving 600 beneficiaries on daily basis higher than the normal daily footfall of 100.
Saying that the AIIMS on Thursday vaccinated 996 people, he said over 50 percent of healthcare workers have not come forward as yet for vaccination.
The statement from the AIIMS chief comes at a time when the country on Saturday recorded 89,129 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily rise in around six-and-half-months, taking the nationwide tally of infections to over 1.23 crore.
As per updates from Union Health Ministry, the death toll increased to 1,64,110 with 714 more fatalities in a day, also the highest since October 21. The jump in cases reported on Saturday was the highest since September 20 last year when 92,605 new infections were recorded in a span of 24 hours.
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