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As India achieved the milestone of administering 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday, 21 October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi applauded the achievement as a "bhagirath effort."
Writing for The Indian Express, the prime minister stated that the landmark, which has been achieved using indigenously-manufactured vaccines, marks a paradigm shift for the country.
"The journey from anxiety to assurance has happened and our nation has emerged stronger, thanks to the world’s largest vaccination drive," the prime minister stated.
"In a nation where governments used to be known to impede forward movement, our government has instead been an accelerator and enabler of progress," he further wrote.
"There was a lot of pressure from different interest groups to give preferential treatment to them in vaccination. But the government ensured that, like our other schemes, there is no VIP culture in the vaccination drive," the prime minister noted in his piece for IE.
As India administered its billionth vaccine on Thursday, Modi had tweeted: "India scripts history. We are witnessing the triumph of Indian science, enterprise and collective spirit of 130 crore Indians. Congrats India on crossing 100 crore vaccinations. Gratitude to our doctors, nurses and all those who worked to achieve this feat."
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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