"It's ridiculous to debate needs and wants," Rahul Gandhi tweeted on the Covid vaccine (File)
Every Indian deserves the chance to a safe life, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi tweeted today as the government declared that vaccinations will not be available to a wider group anytime soon amid an alarming spike in coronavirus cases across the country.
"It's ridiculous to debate needs & wants. Every Indian deserves the chance to a safe life," Mr Gandhi, 50, tweeted with the hashtag #CovidVaccine.
The Wayanad MP has earlier through his tweets urged everyone to wear masks and follow all precautions as infections surge.
The Centre has stressed on the need to vaccinate the most vulnerable first even as Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his Maharashtra counterpart Uddhav Thackeray called for widening the nationwide drive to cover most adults.
The Union Health Ministry said some groups were prioritised because of the limited supply of vaccines.
"Why did we prioritise some groups over others? Because in this phase of vaccination (till around July), vaccines will be in limited supply," Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan told news agency ANI.
Chairman of the National Expert Committee on Vaccine Administration VK Paul said: "When the time comes to open it to all, then we will."
India started vaccinating frontline and healthcare workers first and went on to people above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses. In the latest round, all above 45 are being vaccinated. So far, over eight crore people have been vaccinated.
India recorded over 1.15 lakh new Covid cases in the last 24 hours today for first time since the beginning of the pandemic, setting an unprecedented, grim record during the second wave. The government has said the next four weeks are "very, very critical".