New Delhi: Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Friday said that India will be in a position to vaccinate at least its entire adult population against Covid-19 by the end of this year. The minister also informed that the Modi government is actively supporting vaccine manufacturers in ramping up production and availability of vaccine doses to the population.
“Between August and December, India will have procured 216 crore vaccine doses. By July itself, 51 crore doses will be procured,” Vardhan stated at a Covid-19 review meeting with officials from nine states and union territories.
Union Health Minister @drharshvardhan reviewed Public Health Response to #COVID19 and Progress of #Vaccination with 9 States/UTs today.https://t.co/cs5hYxzf6A pic.twitter.com/Wovk4y2cic
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) May 21, 2021
Earlier, Harsh Vardhan had said India will have procured 267 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of this year, and will be in a position to inoculate at least all of its adult population, according to an official statement.
The minister said that 51 crore Covid-19 vaccine doses will be made available by July and 216 crore more between August and December. He urged states to ensure that the healthcare and frontline workers are fully vaccinated, as they form the vulnerable categories.
Interacting with the health ministers and principal secretaries/ additional chief secretaries of West Bengal and eight northeast states, Vardhan said, “Between August to December 2021, India will have procured 216 crore vaccine doses while, by July this year, 51 crore doses will be procured.”
He said that by the end of the year, the country will be in a position to vaccinate at least all of its adult population, according to the health ministry statement.
Covid situation
The health minister today highlighted an emerging trend of smaller states now showing a rise in Covid cases. While Chhattisgarh was seeing a positivity rate of nearly 30 per cent at the beginning of this month, Himachal Pradesh currently has more than 35,000 active cases. Himachal Pradesh has a fatality rate of 1.44 per cent, which is much higher than the national average.
In terms of vaccination, Chandigarh, Puducherry and Dadra & Nagar Haveli are currently lagging behind the national average of 35 per cent coverage of the 45+ age-group. Others including Lakshadweep and Jammu & Kashmir are lagging behind even in the vaccine coverage of healthcare and frontline workers.