“Considering that the frontline workers of airlines and airports are also involved in movement of vaccines, this MoCA recognizes the merit in the proposal and requests the MoHFW (Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) to include frontline workers of airlines and airports along with frontline workers mentioned in the operational guidelines released on December 28, 2020,” Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), Pradeep Singh Kharola said.
As per the guidelines issued by the health ministry on December 28 last year, initially around 30 crore Indians will be vaccinated, including around three crore healthcare and frontline workers, and approximately 27 crore people of over the age of 50 years.

The pandemic has completely changed the dynamics of the Indian healthcare ecosystem, NATHEALTH President and Apollo Hospitals Executive Vice-Chairperson Preetha Reddy told PTI.

‘It has reiterated the need for increased investment in healthcare infrastructure, national level programmes for skill development and training of healthcare staff, increase in number of medical colleges, effective PPP models and further boost for local manufacturing,’ she added.

The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has surged to 1,03,16,786, pushing the national COVID-19 recovery rate to 96.83 per cent, while the case fatality rate stands at 1.44per cent.