New Delhi, June 22: NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr. V K Paul underscored the importance of fast vaccination in order to enable India to open its economy and resume normal work. “We need to do our daily work, maintain our social life, open schools, businesses, take care of our economy; we will be able to do all this only when we are able to vaccinate at a fast pace”, said Paul speaking to DD News.

Paul informed that India has administered nearly 81 lakh vaccine doses, on the first day when the Revised Guidelines for COVID Vaccination came into force. The day one vaccination figures demonstrate India’s ability to carry out vaccination on large scale for days and weeks together. “All this was possible because of planning and coordination between Central and state government and taking up the task work in mission mode,” added Dr Paul.

Dr. Paul reminded that a third wave can be stopped if COVID Appropriate Behaviour is followed and majority of people get vaccinated. “Why will there be a third wave if we follow COVID Appropriate Behaviour and get ourselves vaccinated? There are many countries where even second wave has not arrived; if we follow COVID appropriate behaviour, this period will pass”, Paul added.

He further said that it is a big mistake to think that our vaccines are unsafe. “All vaccines of the world have been approved under Emergency Use Authorization, just like our vaccines. People from various sections of society have taken these. “The second wave has now receded and it is the best time to take the COVID19 vaccine” he added.

Dr. Paul also pointed out how our decision to vaccinate our health workers on priority has protected them during the second wave. “Very few health care workers got infected, otherwise, our hospitals themselves would have collapsed during the second wave, so please be assured that people are being saved from infection due to the vaccine.”