A healthcare worker receives a dose of Covishield, a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, at a government-run hospital at Baruipur on the outskirts of Kolkata. (Image: Reuters)

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan has clarified that neither a vial of COVID-19 vaccine nor a session is wasted in case of absenteeism as the jabs are allotted to another beneficiary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the vaccination drive with healthcare workers at the frontline of India's COVID-19 battle getting their first jabs on January 16.

India’s drug regulator has approved two vaccines -- Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and Covishield from the Oxford/AstraZeneca stable being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India -- for emergency use in the country.

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According to the government, the shots will be offered first to an estimated one crore healthcare workers and around two crore frontline workers, and then to persons above 50 years of age, followed by persons younger than 50 years of age with associated comorbidities.

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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#COVID19VaccinationDrive Update
More than 7.86 Lakh healthcare workers were vaccinated across the country till 6 PM today.
1,12,007 beneficiaries vaccinated through 2,353 sessions held today.
No case of serious/severe AEFI attributable to #COVID19vaccine till date. pic.twitter.com/bAtC6Ksyrp
— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 20, 2021

On January 20, 1,12,007 beneficiaries were vaccinated till 6 pm through 2,353 sessions, the ministry said. Here is the state-wise vaccination on the day:

States	Total Beneficiaries
Andhra Pradesh	22,548
Bihar	38
Chhattisgarh	5,219
Karnataka	36,211
Kerala	262
Madhya Pradesh	6,731
Tamil Nadu	25,251
Telangana	6,834
West Bengal	2,296
Maharashtra	16,261
Odisha	7,891
Punjab	2,003
Haryana	1,192

Here are all developments related to the COVID-19 vaccine in India:

> On the third day of the COVID-19 inoculation drive in Maharashtra, 18,166 healthcare workers or 68 percent of the targeted beneficiaries for the day were administered vaccine doses on January 20, according to an official release.

> The authorities have ordered an investigation to find out how 1,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine got frozen and wasted due to their storage in sub-zero temperature violating norms at Silchar Medical College and Hospital in Assam's Cachar district, an official said.

> Bhutan and Maldives have become the first two countries to receive COVID-19 vaccines from India under grants assistance in sync with its 'neighbourhood first' policy.

> India will provide one million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Nepal under grant assistance, the Minister for Health and Population said.

> IndiGo has transported 21.6 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine to 16 cities across the country between January 12 and January 19. The vaccines were moved from Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune to 16 locations across the country, including Vijayawada, Guwahati, Patna, Raipur, Bhopal, Thiruvananthapuram, Indore, Imphal, Agartala, via 21 flights, IndiGo said in a statement.

> Altogether 1,097 healthcare workers received coronavirus vaccine shots in Nagaland on January 20, taking the number of vaccinated beneficiaries to 3,970, a health official said.

> As many as 45 healthcare workers received COVID-19 vaccine in Himachal Pradesh on the day, a health official said.

(With inputs from PTI)

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COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker News: Over 7.86 lakh beneficiaries receive coronavirus vaccine

Total 7.86 lakh people have so far been vaccinated for COVID-19 in India. Of these, 1,12,007 people received the vaccine on January 20.

A healthcare worker receives a dose of Covishield, a COVID-19 vaccine manufactured by Serum Institute of India, at a government-run hospital at Baruipur on the outskirts of Kolkata. (Image: Reuters)

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