PM Cares Fund is being used to install oxygen plants and provide medical essentials to hospitals
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated on Tuesday that constant efforts are being made to ramp up Covid-19 vaccine supply in a significant way and that efforts are being made to offer states a 15-day advance schedule of the inoculation programme so that they may plan properly.
During a virtual conference with state and district officials, he referred to them as "field commanders" in the fight against Covid-19, claiming that localised containment zones, vigorous testing, and sharing accurate and complete information with the public are weapons to destroy it. District magistrates from 46 districts in nine states attended the gathering.
People's convenience increases when information such as hospital bed availability or vaccination availability is readily available, according to Modi, who also encouraged officials to stop black-marketing and penalise those who do so. He emphasised the need to be more attentive in the face of declining tallies and reiterated that the fight is about saving every single life, noting that Coronavirus infections are dropping in some places while increasing in others.
Modi asserted that immunisation is a powerful tool in the fight against Covid, but that misconceptions about the disease must be dispelled jointly. The health ministry is streamlining the system and process of vaccination, he said, stressing the need to stop vaccine wastage. Noting that every district has its own unique challenges, he told officials that they had a free hand to innovate to suit their local needs and asked them to share their feedback about any change in policy they may want without any inhibition. Hailing officials, he said many of them worked despite being Covid positive while some lost their family members but they gave duty their foremost priority.
"You understand the challenges of your district much better. So when your district wins, the country wins. When your district beats Corona, the country defeats Corona," a PMO statement said quoting Modi. He asked officials to also take care of the ease of living of every citizen of their district, saying there is a need to stop the infection and also ensure the unhindered flow of essential supplies. Work is being done rapidly to install oxygen plants in hospitals in every district of the country through "PM Cares Fund" and these plants have already started functioning in many hospitals, he said.
The statement said officials also informed him about the innovative steps that were undertaken to manage the recent surge of cases. Modi asked them to compile the best practices and innovative steps so that these may be used in other districts of the country. The meeting was also attended by the Home Minister, Defence Minister, Health Minister, chief ministers of various states, Member (Health) NITI Aayog, Health Secretary, Pharmaceutical Secretary, and other officers from PMO, ministries, and departments of the central government. Modi is scheduled to interact with another bunch of officials on Thursday.