Hyderabad, Jan 5 : Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Today  said that Indian origin physicians have gained a formidable reputation in the United States and several of them occupy the top administrative positions in the country.

“They are among the most successful ambassadors of India’s value systems”, he said in a recorded inaugural message at the 15th Global Health Summit, organized by American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) here.

The Vice President praised Indian origin medical professionals for “making their mark in every corner of the world” and being the “personification of our Nation’s civilisational value of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.

Mr Naidu called for a sense of urgency in dealing with the new surge in COVID cases and to apply the lessons of the past waves of the pandemic.

“We must consider it our ‘Dharma’ and ‘Kartavya’ to follow the COVID protocol at all times – wearing a mask, maintaining physical distance, getting vaccinated, and secure ourselves and our community”, he emphasized.

Noting the importance of the measure to vaccinate age groups 15-18 years, Mr Naidu urged parents of the children in the newly eligible age groups to get their wards vaccinated at the earliest.

The Vice President called upon public-minded individuals, social advocacy groups, medical professionals and the government to reach out to as many people as possible and get rid of any vaccine hesitancy that may be stopping India in its collective fight against the pandemic.

Noting that Indian firms have collaborated with US-based organisations to produce the recently approved vaccines — Corbevax and Covovax, Mr Venkaiah said “this experience clearly shows India-US collaboration in healthcare can reap great benefits not only for our countries, but for the entire world”.(UNI)