Don't waste vaccines: PM Modi

New Delhi: The experiences and feedback of field officials help in making effective and practical policies to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday.

Interacting with the district magistrates (DMs) and field officials of 10 States regarding the Cocid-19 situation on the ground, the Prime Minister said the country needs new strategies and solutions in the midst of new challenges posed by coronavirus.

"Coronavirus has made your work more demanding and challenging. In the midst of new challenges, we need new strategies and solutions. It becomes important to use local experiences and we need to work together as a country. Your work in the field, your experiences, and your feedbacks help in making practical and effective policies.

The vaccination drive is also being taken forward by incorporating suggestions from states and many stakeholders at every level," he said.

PM Modi said past epidemics and the current pandemic taught us that constant change and innovation in the strategies are very important.

"These viruses specialize in mutations, formatting, so our methods and strategies should also be dynamic," he said. On vaccine wastage, the Prime Minister said, "wastage of a single vaccine means not being able to give the necessary protection to one life. It is therefore important to prevent vaccine waste," he advised.

Modi asked officials to record the spread of coronavirus infection and its seriousness among the youth and children, and cautioned that the challenge posed by Covid-19 will remain as long it is present even at a "minor scale" in the country.

Modi spoke about concerns in various quarters about any spread of infection in the young generation due to mutations in the virus and asked officials to analyse the statistics in their districts. They will have to be better prepared for the future, he said. There have been reports that the virus may hit the young generation, a demography which has so far not been affected hard as the adult population with people in the older age bracket being seen more susceptible.

The central government should provide for free vaccination to all Indian citizens and greatly ramp up RT-PCR testing in both rural and urban areas, a group of former civil servants said in an open letter to Modi.

They said the government seems to be more concerned with managing the narrative of 'efficient' management of the COVID crisis rather than addressing the crucial issues at stake.

The letter is signed by 116 former civil servants, including former Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar, former health secretary K Sujatha Rao, former foreign secretary and ex-national security adviser Shivshankar Menon, former adviser to the Prime Minister T K A Nair, former chief information commissioner Wajahat Habibullah and former lieutenant governor of Delhi Najeeb Jung.