Indian envoy to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, has said that there is "very strong and deep appreciation" in the United States as India achieved the one billion COVID-19 vaccinations milestone.
Speaking at Public Affairs Forum of India's 8th National Forum 2021 on Thursday, Sandhu said: "It is a very proud moment for us and I can tell you that there is very strong and deep appreciation in the US that we have crossed the one billion landmark and all through the vaccines manufactured in India."
India attained the milestone of administering 100 crore COVID-19 vaccines on Thursday morning. Several world leaders congratulated India on this achievement.
India's COVID-19 vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021. Initially, the vaccination was opened for Health Care Workers (HCWs) only.
From February 2, front line workers were made eligible for vaccination.
These included state and Central Police personnel, Armed Force Personnel, Home Guards, Civil Defence and Disaster Management Volunteers, Municipal workers, Prison Staff, PRI Staff and Revenue workers involved in containment and surveillance, Railway Protection Force and election Staff.
The vaccination drive was expanded from March 1 to include persons above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with associated specified 20 comorbidities.
It was further expanded to all people above 45 years of age from April 1. From May 1 all persons above 18 years of age were made eligible for COVID-19 vaccination.
Talking about Prime Minister Narendra Modi's last month visit to the US, Sandhu said the visit was a "testament to the enduring strength of our partnership".
"My focus here is to share perspective on India-US relationship that has emerged as the most imp bilateral partnership and this was predicted by President Biden in 2006," he said.
"Last month, PM Modi visited the US for his 1st bilateral face-to-face summit with President Biden and first in-person QUAD Leaders' Summit. It was a landmark visit during which he identified 5 T's that define the partnership -- tradition, talent, trade, technology & trusteeship," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )
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