Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan to chair GoM meet to review COVID-19 situation and vaccination drive

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan will on Friday chair the 24th meeting of the High-level Group of Ministers (GoM) to discuss the current national and international scenario of coronavirus pandemic and strategies that are to be adopted for availability and distribution of vaccines in the coming days.

The meeting will take place at 10:30 AM at the Nirman Bhawan. The matters to be discussed are important in view of the recent developments in the country. 

While ruling out a lockdown, PM Narendra Modi had on Thursday noted that administration was appearing lax in many states with daily COVID-19 cases hitting new peaks.

The Prime Minister urged the chief ministers to strengthen their efforts for the next 2-3 weeks to check the spread of the virus on a "war-footing" and proposed to call the night curfew clamped in many places as "corona curfew" to maintain public awareness about the pandemic. 

He also called for observing a vaccine festival between April 11-14 to inoculate the maximum number of eligible beneficiaries. April 11 is the birth anniversary of noted social reformer Jyotirao Phule, he noted.

In his virtual interaction with chief ministers to discuss the pandemic situation and the ongoing vaccination drive, PM Modi strongly defended the current eligibility criteria for vaccination amid demand by some states, ruled by opposition parties, to open the shot for all above 18 years.
Amid a massive spike in COVID-19 cases in India, several states including Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand have complained about a shortage of coronavirus vaccine. 

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 cases hit an all-time high in India on Thursday, surpassing the 1.26 lakh mark in a single day.