New Delhi, Jan 5 : Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday appealed for a sense of urgency in dealing with the new surge in Covid-19 cases and apply the lessons of the past two waves of the infection. "We must consider it our 'dharma' and 'kartavya' to follow the Covid-19 protocol at all times -- wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing and getting vaccinated, and secure ourselves and our community," he said. Talking about the importance of vaccinating the 15-18 years' age group, Naidu urged parents of the children in the newly eligible age group to get their wards vaccinated at the earliest. He 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 Covid-19 infection. In a recorded inaugural message for the 15th global health summit organised by the American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI), 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' (world is one family). Naidu said that in the US in particular, Indian-origin physicians have gained a formidable reputation and that several of them occupy the top administrative positions in the country. "They are among the most successful ambassadors of India's value system," he added. Noting that Indian firms have collaborated with US-based organisations to produce the recently approved vaccines "Corbevax and Covovax", Naidu said, "This experience clearly shows India-US collaboration in healthcare can reap great benefits not only for our countries but for the entire world." In the message, the Vice-President expressed concern that while urban areas have technology in tertiary healthcare that attract international patients, it is worrisome that rural areas are lagging behind with limited access to even primary healthcare. Naidu suggested seriously exploring the use of telehealth and other technological solutions in reaching out better to rural and remote areas. He lauded Telangana for excelling in the recently-released NITI Aayog's fourth edition of state health index. He expressed happiness that Telangana is also in the top three states in the year-on-year incremental performance in health outcomes. /IANS