CII, Serum Institute Come Together To Take COVID Vaccines To Rural Areas

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has joined hands with vaccine manufacturer Serum Institute of India (SII) to take COVID-19 vaccination to small towns and rural areas. On Friday, July 30, CII in a release said the inoculation drive will target communities in the country's small towns and rural areas to ensure wide coverage. The partnership will also cover healthcare providers.

"India's post-pandemic growth critically rests on how soon the eligible population is vaccinated and economic activities can return to normal. CII aims to connect the community, hospitals, and corporates to fast-track vaccination, and the partnership with Serum Institute will help catalyze industry participation to reach out to communities at large," said T V Narendran, President, CII, reported Moneycontrol.

Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Insititute, said that the partnership with the industry body will close the existing distribution gaps and ensure that the populating residing in far-flung areas are also vaccinated against COVID. As of 23 July, 2021, a total of 34,75,301 single doses have been administered through 430 camps held across the country by the CII and the CII Foundation.

Setting Up Vaccination Camps

CII is also mapping vaccination needs state-wise and setting up vaccination camps along with its members focusing on reaching the tier 2 and tier 3 cities and rural areas. CII is now launching a campaign on vaccine hesitancy to be widely disseminated to target communities. Earlier, it had released a campaign on masking up with the tagline "Aap insaan hai, bhagwan nahi". It ran successfully on several television channels and media.

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