On the first day, around 100 people will be voluntarily vaccinated in each of the 3 006 centers in the country, the government said this week, calling it the start of the biggest such campaign in the world.
Modi, who addressed healthcare workers through video conferencing, will not immediately take the vaccine himself as India is initially prioritising 30 million nurses, doctors and others on the front line followed by about 270 million older than 50 or deemed high-risk.
Beneficiaries, however, will not be able to choose between the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine and a government-backed, homegrown one from Bharat Biotech whose efficacy is not known. Both are being produced locally.
India, which has reported the highest number of coronavirus infections after the United States, wants to vaccinate around 300 million people with two doses in the first six to eight months of the year.
Some 10.5 million people in India have been infected with the coronavirus, more than 151 000 of whom have died, though the rate of cases has come down since a mid-September peak. India, the world’s most populous country after China, has said it may not need to vaccinate all of its 1.35 billion people to create herd immunity.
Still, covering even half its population will make it one of the largest immunization programs in the world, even if countries like the United States were to vaccinate every resident.
SABC New correspondents Ishan Garg and Neha Poonia gives an update:
