PM Modi meeting with states on November 24: COVID vaccine distribution, plan to curb virus spread likely on agenda

File image: PIB

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold virtual meetings with chief ministers on November 24 to review the response of states and Union Territories to the COVID-19 crisis, News18 has reported.

Emergency authorisation of vaccines and their distribution are likely to be discussed with the states. This comes at a time when multiple drug makers have announced positive results from clinical trials for the COVID-19 vaccine candidates.

According to the news report, the prime minister is likely to hold multiple meetings – including one with with chief ministers or representatives of states reporting highest number of daily COVID-19 cases.

It was earlier reported that the Centre was already working on modalities for emergency authorisation of a COVID-19 vaccine even as data from phase-three clinical trials is awaited and other formalities are pending.

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The meeting also comes at a time when multiple states have started showing resurgence in COVID-19 cases being reported on a daily basis. The Centre has already deputed high-level teams to Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh to support those states in their COVID-19 response and management.

As of November 23, India had recorded 91.3 lakh cases. While 85.6 lakh patients had recovered, there were still 4.4 lakh active cases. The death toll in the country from the infectious disease stood at 1.3 lakh.

On November 20, PM Modi had held a meeting to review India's vaccination strategy. Issues like prioritisation of population groups and technology platform for rolling out vaccines were discussed.

In a tweet, the prime minister had said that important issues related to the progress of vaccine development, regulatory approvals and procurement had been discussed in the meeting.

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