PM Modi's address to the nation: Key points

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday addressed the nation amid Omicron threat and announced vaccination for children in the age of 15-18 years will begin from January 3.

During his address, the Prime Minister urged people to not panic but at the same time be cautious and follow

Covid

appropriate behaviour.

Here are the key points of his address:

• Infections are rising across several nations due to a new variant of Covid, Omicron. In India, there have been a few cases as well. I call upon all of you to not panic.
• Today, the nation has 18 lakh isolation beds, 5 lakh oxygen supported beds, 1.4 lakh ICU beds and 90,000 special beds for kids. Today, we have over 3,000 functional PSA Oxygen plants and 4 lakh cylinders have been provided to all states.
• Taking care of all precautions and vaccination are the best ways to combat the pandemic. Our nation had started working on mission mode on vaccine development a long time ago.
• Apart from research on the vaccine, we were also working on approval processes, supply chains, distribution, training, IT support system and certification. With these efforts, India started vaccinating its citizens from 16 January.
• Realising the seriousness of Covid-19, today more than 141 crore doses have been administered in India. More than 90% eligible population has been vaccinated with the first dose of vaccine.
• We are set to begin vaccination for kids aged between 15-18 from January 3, 2022. This will not just strengthen our fight against Covid, but also help our students in schools and colleges health-wise.
• Our frontline warriors have played a huge role in our fight against the pandemic. The government has, thus, also decided that we will begin with precautionary doses for the health workers - from January 10, 2022.
• Those with comorbidities and above 60 years of age on the recommendation of their doctors will be eligible for precaution doses from January 10, 2022 onwards.