Vaccination / India will vaccinate all against COVID-19 by December 2021: Prakash Javadekar

New Delhi: Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday said that India will vaccinate all of its citizens against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) by December 2021 while addressing a press conference. Javadekar said that by December 216 crore doses of vaccine doses will be ready which means that 108 crore people will be able to get their jabs.

“The health ministry last week made it clear that within December the nation will produce 216 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines which means that at least 108 crore people will be able to get their jabs. So, Rahul Gandhi should understand that India will vaccinate all by December 2021,” Prakash Javadekar said. Javadekar also said that the Covid-19 vaccination programme is robust and will successfully vaccinate every citizen.

Javadekar harshly criticised Rahul Gandhi for using the word 'nautanki' during his press conference earlier in the day. He said that using such terms while the nation faces a crisis is akin to insulting the efforts of the government to contain the pandemic.

“India has administered 20 crore vaccines so far and ranks second in terms of jabs administered. If Rahul Gandhi is indeed worried about vaccination rates, he should concentrate on how Congress-governed states are conducting their respective vaccination drives. Those states have not been able to vaccinate people aged between 18-45 years even though quotas were assigned to them,” Javadekar further added.

Rahul Gandhi during his press conference criticised the Centre and claimed that the current rate of vaccination will further lead to multiple waves of Covid-19 while also claiming that at the current pace India will be able to vaccinate all by May 2024.

The Wayanad parliamentarian's press conference led to a war of words among both parties after he held Prime Minister Narendra Modi responsible for the damage caused due to the second wave of Covid-19 in the country. "Through his actions the Prime Minister paved way for Covid-19 to cause such damage. He is responsible for the second wave of Covid-19," Rahul Gandhi said. The Congress leader also called the PM Modi an 'event manager'.