Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch world's largest COVID-19 vaccination drive on 16 January, a statement from Prime Minister's Office said on Thursday. "Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will launch the pan India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive on 16th January, 2021 at 10:30 AM via video conferencing," the statement said.In a statement, the PMO said that over 3,000 sites across all states and union territories (UTs) will be virtually connected when Prime Minister Narendra Modi launches the drive. "Around 100 beneficiaries to be vaccinated at each session site on January 16," the PMO said. It also said that a dedicated 24x7 call centre (number 1075) will be established to address queries related to Covid-19 pandemic, vaccine rollout and its digital platform Co-WIN. The platform has been created for real-time information on vaccine stocks and tracking of patients who need to be vaccinated.
The PMO further said that adequate doses of the two approved vaccines have been sent to all the states and UTs with active support of the civil aviation ministry. These vaccines have been further delivered to all districts by respective state governments. All the preparations in place to initiate Covid-19 vaccination programme on principles of Jan Bhagidari (public participation)," the PMO said. India will hold a massive vaccination drive on January 16, which has been termed the world's largest by PM Modi. He also said the Centre will bear the cost of vaccination for healthcare and frontline workers. The Prime Minister is also expected to interact with healthcare workers who would receive the vaccine shots. The roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine will provide priority to the healthcare workers and the frontline workers who are estimated to be around 30 million in the first phase, followed by those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 270 million. Two Covid-19 vaccines - Oxford University-Astrazeneca's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin - have been given emergency use authorisation after a high-level meeting chaired by PM Modi. These vaccines may cost in the range of ₹200 to ₹295 in India.