India To Kick Off Covid-19 Vaccination Drive On Jan. 16

India will launch its Covid-19 vaccination drive on Jan. 16 and priority will be given to nearly three crore healthcare and frontline workers.

The decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi reviewed the status of Covid-19 situation and vaccine preparedness, the government said in a statement on Saturday. After the review, it was decided that the vaccination drive will be held after the forthcoming festivals including Lohri, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, and Magh Bihu.

After healthcare and frontline workers, priority will be given to those above 50 years of age and the under-50 population groups with co-morbidities numbering around 27 crore, it said.

"Emergency Use Authorisation or Accelerated Approval has been granted by the National Regulator for two vaccines (Covishield and Covaxin) which have established safety and immunogenicity," the government said.

There are more than 2.24 lakh active cases of coronavirus infection in the country, which constitutes 2.16% of the total caseload so far of over 1.04 crore, according to the latest health ministry data. More than 1.5 lakh people have died so far.