‘Unmasked’ and ‘Hug-Friendly’ Modi’s campaign to endorse Covaxin at G20 bears results as Australia gives it the approval

During his recent tour of Italy and the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to snub the mask and interact with world leaders in a pre-Covid environment. The results were almost instantly visible. Prime Minister Modi is today being hailed globally for announcing a series of big bang goals at the climate change summit held in Glasgow. By ditching the mask, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is telling the world that he is absolutely confident about the efficacy of vaccines made in India. As such, it is time for the world to unanimously embrace Indian vaccines, and cut the unnecessary bureaucratic red tape which is holding up Covaxin’s approval by the World Health Organisation.

PM Modi’s confidence in India’s vaccine and the bonhomie he shares with world leaders has begun showing effect. In a massive victory for India, Australia on Monday recognised Covaxin as one of the recognised vaccines of travellers wishing to enter the state. Issuing a statement, the Australian Department of Health has added Covaxin (for age 12 and above) and Sinopharm (for age 18 to 60) to the list of accepted/recognised vaccines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday took to Twitter to thank his Australian counterpart Scott Morisson for the move, citing it as a crucial step for the India-Australia partnership post-COVID-19 era.

Morrison later tweeted it was “wonderful” to see his friend at Cop26.

Prime Minister Modi is inoculated with Covaxin, and he effectively signalled to the world community that those vaccinated with Covaxin do not require masks any longer. Importantly, at the G20 summit on Saturday, PM Modi made a renewed push for Indian vaccines to be recognised by the WHO. He said India was looking to provide 5 billion vaccine doses to the world next year, and for the same to happen, the WHO must immediately grant authorisation to Made in India vaccines. It was only after these statements by the Prime Minister that Australia authorised Covaxin.

Read more:  Maskless Modi among Masked global leaders and the victory of India’s vaccination program

PM Modi’s Rapport with World Leader Doing the Deed

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has impeccable personal relationships with all world leaders. Whether it be U.S. President Joe Biden, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Angela Merkel or the heads of states from Japan, Singapore, Brazil and other countries – PM Modi is respected by all, and his words are taken as his bond. Therefore, when PM Modi vouched for Covaxin before the leaders of the world, he made an impact. It is now expected that the World Health Organisation will also grant authorisation to Covaxin on November 3.

India has administered over 105 crore vaccine doses to its citizens. Out of a population of 1.3 billion people – over 31 per cent have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19. A government study in July estimated that more than two-thirds of Indians already had COVID-fighting antibodies, mainly through natural infection.  So, India’s stature in the world has in any case witnessed an upswing recently. Now, PM Modi is capitalising on the same, making use of his relations with world leaders and also ditching the mask to convey to countries around the world that Covaxin’s time has come.

The world is desperate to break the duopoly of Pfizer and Moderna – the two mRNA vaccines. The two mRNA vaccines are incredibly expensive which the poor, underdeveloped nations cannot afford. Covaxin is relatively cheaper and does not need the extreme logistical apparatus like the mRNA vaccines to be administered. Covaxin has been manufactured using a live virus, which means it has been made using a manufacturing process that has been used in childhood vaccines for polio and other diseases for decades. Succinctly put, Covaxin is the best vaccine out there to address the hesitancy of millions of people with respect to mRNA vaccines. With Australia, Covaxin seems to have broken the glass ceiling.