File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking during a televised address

PM Narendra Modi will address the nation at 5 pm on June 7, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has said in a tweet.

While it was not immediately clear as to what the prime minister’s address to the nation would be about, it comes on a day India reported just over 1 lakh new daily COVID-19 cases – the lowest in around two months.

Sources said that the prime minister is likely to stress on the need to get vaccinated and talk about his government's COVID-19 vaccination policy, which has been criticised by various states as well as experts. The Supreme Court had also recently questioned the Centre over its nationwide vaccination policy.

The union government may take responsibility of vaccine procurement, sources added.

Sources said that the address may also stress on the need to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour at a time when states are ‘unlocking’, and touch upon preparations for a possible third wave of cases.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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PM Narendra Modi to address the nation at 5 pm today

PM Narendra Modi's address to the nation may revolve around the Centre's COVID-19 vaccination policy, easing of restrictions and preparations for a possible third wave of infections, sources said

File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaking during a televised address

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