Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that the decisions on booster dose of vaccine against Covid-19 and vaccination of kids will be taken after scientific advise. He further asked the Opposition parties to trust the scientists, news agency PTI reported.
Reacting to the Opposition’s attack on Centre for not revealing the actual number of covid-19 fatalities during the second wave, Mandaviya said that all states were asked for their respective death numbers. Out of the 19 states that responded to this request, Mandviya said, only Punjab reported 4 “suspected’ deaths due to oxygen shortage.
The Opposition had demanded that that the government should inform the House about the roadmap to vaccinations and clarify the number of actual deaths caused by the virus.
Earlier today, opposition MPs staged a protest outside the Parliament over the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs who were shunted out on Monday due to their “unruly” conduct in the previous session. The Opposition has described the suspension as “undemocratic and in violation of all the Rules of Procedure” of the Upper House.
The Opposition parties on Thursday had hit out at the government over its Covid-19 management, slow pace of vaccination and mishandling the second wave. It also demanded that international flights be immediately stopped in view of the new Omicron strain.
In other news, several journalists held a protest against restrictions imposed on the entry of scribes and camera people into Parliament, alleging that the move is a precursor to a “complete ban” on spot coverage of parliamentary sessions by the media in the coming days. ( Indian Express )
