No Vaccine Shortage Anywhere: G Kishan Reddy

Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy today inspected Hyderabad's Gandhi Hospital and its vaccination centres.

Speaking after the inspection, Reddy said that the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive was proceeding at a rapid pace in India, and asserted that measures were being taken by the Centre to ensure that no place faced any vaccine shortage.

"Two greatly effective vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, are being manufactured by pharmaceutical companies right here in India, which are being used in the nation-wide Covid-19 immunisation program. It is a matter of great pride for our nation that besides being able to run our immunisation program entirely self-sufficiently, we are also supplying vaccines to over 50 countries across the globe. At the same time, the Centre is maintaining an adequate stock for domestic use, and there is no supply crunch anywhere in India," he said.

The minister added that the Centre had taken several steps to ensure the proper and wastage-free transportation of the vaccine to the various immunisation centres across the country.

To encourage the people of Telangana and of the country to get vaccinated, Reddy revealed that while Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been inoculated with Covaxin, he himself had taken the Covishield injection recently, and assured them that both the vaccines were working in an effective manner without side effects.

Reiterating that both Covishield and Covaxin were equally effective, he then urged the people to take whichever kind of vaccine was available to them at the earliest, instead of waiting for the vaccine of their choice. He also made sure to remind those who had already been vaccinated not to get lackadaisical about adhering to the prescribed Covid-19 safety guidelines.

"It is impossible for the state and union governments to prevent the spread of Covid-19 without the support of the people. We must all work together to fight this pandemic. I encourage all the eligible beneficiaries to get vaccinated at the earliest. However, please do not stop wearing masks, sanitising your hands, and following social distancing norms after getting vaccinated. Please continue to follow all the recommended safety measures," the minister added.