Mansukh Mandaviya hails COVID-19 warriors for their sacrifices during the pandemic

Union HealthMinister Mansukh Mandaviya lauded the health workers of the country for their sacrifices in their attempt to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. In a tweet, he posted a video of two health workers taking a risk by attempting to cross a secluded road in a mountain, where a slip could have pushed them into the stream of water. “The world's largest and fastest vaccination campaign is progressing successfully today due to the hard work of these health workers who are going to vaccinate even in inaccessible areas by taking great risks," read his tweet roughly translated to English.

The drone programme to deliver vaccines

The Union Health Minister stated that the contribution of the health workers during the past 19 months in keeping the country safe will never be forgotten. However, the government has made recent developments to avoid health workers from taking such a risk. On 4 October, Mandaviya launched the Drone Response and Outreach in North East (i-Drone), a programme initiated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The drones will be made in India and the aerial devices will be used to deliver vaccines to such remote locations as shown in the video posted by the minister himself. The drone programme is under the 'Antyodaya' scheme, which was introduced by the BJP and it will ensure the speedy delivery of all kinds of vaccines to the inaccessible regions of the northeast.  

While launching the flagship programme, Mandaviya said, "This is for the first time that a Make in India drone has been used in South Asia to transport COVID vaccine over an aerial distance of 15 km in 12-15 mins from the Bishnupur district hospital to Loktak lake, Karang island in Manipur for administration at the PHC. The actual road distance between these locations is 26 km. Today, 10 beneficiaries will receive the first dose and 8 will receive the second dose at the PHC.” Launching the initiative to facilitate the vaccine delivery to tough and hard-to-reach terrains across the country, the Union Health Minister said, "Incorporating such drone technologies into the national programs would help deliver other vaccines and medical supplies as quickly as possible.”