New Delhi:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, launching the country’s Covid vaccination drive today, gave a shout-out to frontline workers and appeared emotional as he spoke about these who risked their lives to save lives.
Looking back at the hard occasions when the coronavirus pandemic initially burst upon an unprepared planet, PM Modi choked up as he spoke about persons who could not execute the final rites of their loved ones, these who have been separated from their households and the elderly who died in isolation.
“Today when we take a look at the last year, we realise that we have learnt a lot as individuals, family and nation. I want to remember those days when the disease kept people away from their families. Mothers wept for their children but couldn’t hold them. Old fathers fought the disease alone in hospitals, their children could not help them. We could perform rituals for those who died due to corona,” mentioned the PM.
“It makes me extremely sad”.
Appearing to fight tears, the prime minister then referred to sacrifices created by healthcare and frontline workers, hundreds of whom lost their lives.
“In times of that crisis and atmosphere of despair, some were giving us hope. They were putting themselves at risk to save us – doctors, nurses, paramedics, ambulance drivers, sanitation workers, police and other frontline workers – they prioritised their duty to humanity. They stayed away from their families and children, they stayed away from home for days… Hundreds never returned home.”
They sacrificed their lives to save lives, the PM mentioned. “So today, by vaccinating healthcare workers first, society is paying their debt.”
Around 3 crore wellness workers will be inoculated in the initially phase of the vaccination campaign, a single of the world’s biggest.
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