By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Director Randeep Guleria on Monday called for an equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines across the globe, saying “nobody is safe until everyone is safe”. He highlighted that if it does not happen, coronavirus will continue to mutate.
Speaking at the inaugural session of a two-day lecture series organised by the JNU’s Centre for Canadian, US, and Latin American Studies, Guleria lauded the country’s vaccination programme. “India has done remarkably well as far as our vaccine programme is concerned… It is something that we should be proud of. Almost 97 per cent of Indians aged 18 and above have received the first dose of vaccine. This is a remarkable achievement,” he said.
He added, “It is important that there should be an equitable distribution of vaccines all around the world. No one is safe unless everyone is safe.” The two-day lecture series on ‘COVID-19 and the engaged democracies with special reference to Canada and India’ has been funded by Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI).
The event was also attended by JNU Vice Chancellor Santishree D Pandit and SICI Director Prachi Kaul. Addressing the event, the AIIMS director noted that the virus, which has raged on for 26 months and claimed 6 million lives worldwide, will gradually become an endemic.
He also pointed out that the pandemic has impacted every sphere of life – healthcare, economy, education, tourism among others. “After the first COVID-19 case, it has been a roller coaster ride. We know sooner or later that this pandemic will end,” he said.
Asserting that the World Health Organisation has deemed vaccine hesitancy as one of the top ten global health threats, Guleria said that data from various studies shows that compared to the western countries, there is not much vaccine hesitancy in India.
