Network 18 and Federal Bank’s initiative Sanjeevani- a shot of life, a first of its kind initiative on increasing awareness about Covid-19 vaccination was launched today in the present of eminent personalities including Actor Sonu Sood and Rakesh Asthana, DG of BSF on Wednesday.
The event was launched by Shyam Srinivasan, Chief Executive Officer of Federal Bank at the Attari Border in Punjab. The campaign has been launched on World Health Day to increase awareness about vaccination against Covid-19.
Sonu Sood who earlier took the Covid jab at Apollo Hospital said, “I remember the time (last year) when the movement of the migrants began to head for their home. We only appealed to them to stay calm and remain safe. Now when we have the vaccine against Covid, whoever is listening to us should please get the Covid vaccine.”
The actor who became famous for his role in helping out the migrants to go home during the Covid lockdown, added, “I think that there is a need to remove the hesitancy among the people who are thinking whether they should get innoculated or not. Get vaccinated at the earliest.”
BSF DG Rakesh Asthana said that “As a leader we have to lead from the front. Every jawan has taken the vaccine… I would like to add that it is more necessary to fight the enemies of our health than fighting the enemies of the nation.”
Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan lauded the efforts of Network 18 and Federal Bank for starting the awareness campaign. “I am happy looking at the campaign of Network 18 with Federal Bank that you have named it Sanjeevani…I have earlier told that Media persons are no less than Covid warriers working from Ground zero. I am very thankful to you all for making the vaccination programme into a mass movement,” the minister said.
Union Health Minister said during the event that the country has already inoculated people with 8 crore 30 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine.
Drawing the analogy of Sanjeevani in Ramayana, the Health Minister compared the Covid vaccine to Sanjeevani adding that it is easier to get the life-saving vaccine than it was to get Sanjeevani for Lord Hanuman. “Our Lord Hanuman went to get Sanjeevani from Himalaya mountain crossing half of the country. The Covid vaccine is working like Sanjeevani to protect your life. Hanuman ji had to take a long journey to get Sanjeevani, but for the people we have made it available in thousands of centres, private and public hospitals for free,” he said.
Amritsar DC Gurpreet Singh Khaira said that there is need to expand the vaccination to the younger generation as the positivity among the young people is higher as they are the workforce in industries and the ones working at the front.
NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said that he has got vaccinated against Covid-19 and informed that he didn’t face any side effects. “I didn’t felt any pain. There was no side effects. PM Modi said that it has to be a jan andolan, I would say that everyone should be vaccinated,” he said.
“In the second wave the spread is fast. I am ensuring mask, necessary discipline inspite of taking both the doses…India is one of the few countries where vaccine is being made and available to people. So, get the vaccine and protect the family from Covid-19,” Kant added.
The initiative also saw the participation of AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria, Narayana Health’s chairperson Devi Shetty, Punjab Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu and CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr Sanjay Gupta.
At the launch, Sanjeevani Gaadi was flagged off by Federal Bank’s MD and CEO Shyam Srinivasan and actor and philanthropist Sonu Sood at the Attari Border. The vehicle will travel across the country to spread awareness about the covid19 vaccines and bust myths around the same to tackle vaccine hesitancy. The five districts covered under the vaccination drive are – Nashik, Indore, Guntur, Amritsar and Dakshina Kannada covering a total of 4,831 villages.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.
Comments
0 comment