Modi tweeted that the meeting discussed important issues related to the progress of vaccine development, regulatory approvals and procurement.
The modalities of COVID-19 vaccine delivery, distribution and administration were discussed during the meeting.
Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE have said that their vaccine candidate has been found to be more than 90 per cent effective in preventing COVID-19.
'From April 25, 2021, Modi disappeared. He made no public appearance for 20 days.' 'The prime minister of India fled the field when his people needed the government most,' points out Aakar Patel.
The current Covid situation in India is under control and there are no reasons to panic, said Dr N K Arora, the chairperson of National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI).
The NTAGI has not yet suggested any change in the schedule of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday said a large population of the country is still not vaccinated against COVID-19, noting that only 42 per cent of the population will be vaccinated by December end against the required rate of 60 per cent to prevent the third wave of coronavirus.
Neutralising antibody levels waned after six months in those who were fully vaccinated against the coronavirus with Covishield, Covaxin and a mix of both.
Tope said only 35,000 vials of Covaxin are currently available with the state government for administering the second dose to the people above 45 years.
'Viral infections rise in winter and better care needs to be taken in the next few months.'
About 50 countries, including Canada, Mexico, Nigeria, Panama and Uganda, have shown interest in adopting CoWIN to run their vaccination drives.
Two doses of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines generate lower levels of antibodies against the Omicron variant of coronavirus, according to a study which suggests that those previously infected or vaccinated may be at an increased risk of infection.
In the Rome Declaration, the G20 leaders thanked healthcare and frontline workers, international organisations and scientists for their relentless efforts to cope with the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.
Scientists have identified and tested an antibody that limits the severity of infections from a variety of coronaviruses, including those that cause COVID-19 as well as the SARS illness.
It is incorrect to say that India was complacent and did not do adequate amount of work for containment of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic as no country was prepared for it, National Health Authority (NHA) CEO R S Sharma said on Thursday.
"The Serum Institute of India (SII) has informed the state government that it can supply the 'Covishield' vaccine only after May 20," Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.
'Our study shows a greater risk reduction for people who received an mRNA vaccine after having received a first dose of a vector-based, as compared to people having received the vector-based vaccine for both doses,' Nordstrom said.
'Registration for the newly eligible category for COVID-19 vaccination opens today at 4 pm on cowin.gov.in and Aarogya Setu app'
Amid an unprecedented surge in coronavirus cases in the country, the government has decided to allow everyone above 18 years of age to get vaccinated from May 1.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the challenge of the Covid pandemic is not fully over yet, with the increase in coronavirus cases in the last two weeks manifesting the need to stay alert, and underlined that vaccination remains the biggest protective shield against the virus.
'The Modi government's lack of foresight has compelled India to become an importer of vaccines today and even now, their "vaccine strategy is flawed and discriminatory'
Union minister Prakash Javadekar on Friday cited recent remarks of the health ministry to assert that the inoculation exercise in India will be completed by December this year.
India achieved this coverage in 130 days as against the USA's feat in 124 days.
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, the Indian Medical Association has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi suggesting that vaccination be allowed for all people above the age of 18 years.
If the vaccine is recommended for use as a booster against Omicron, it may significantly boost the demand for Covishield in India.
The Centre on Tuesday placed orders for 44 crore doses of Covishield and Covaxin, a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre would take over the state procurement quota and provide free jabs to state governments for inoculation of all above the age of 18.
Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla said that vaccination against COVID-19, in the present scenario, is critical to break the chain of transmission.
The World Health Organisation said in its latest update that the XE recombinant (BA.1-BA.2) was first detected in the UK on January 19 and more than 600 sequences have been reported and confirmed since then.
At 4.35 pm, a tweet from the verified Twitter handle of the Aarogya Setu mobile application said the CoWIN portal is working and that there was a minor glitch at 4 pm, which was fixed.
On-site registration and appointment has now been enabled for the 18-44 years age group on the CoWin platform for COVID-19 vaccination, the Union health ministry said.
According to the advance visibility provided by the Centre to states and Union territories, a total of 5.86 crore Covid vaccine doses will be provided free of cost to them from May 1 to June 15, the Union health ministry said on Wednesday.
Serum Institute of India announced a price of Rs 400 per dose for its COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' for state governments and Rs 600 per dose for private hospitals.
Stressing on the need to protect both lives and livelihoods, he said public health action in India and across the world must be continually guided by evidence from four key questions -- how transmissible is the variant, severity of the disease it causes, how well vaccines and prior SARS-CoV-2 infection protect and how common people perceive risk and follow control measures.
"The concrete actions are a stern indication that Government of India is making all out efforts to increase vaccine production in the country as well as attracting foreign vaccine manufacturers to supply the required vaccine doses for national Covid vaccination programme," the ministry in a statement.
Districts with a higher literacy level tend to perform better in vaccination than districts with low levels of school-going population, finds Ishaan Gera.
The modus operandi for immunising the country's 1.35 billion population in stages has been thrashed out in more than one meeting among top government officials in the health ministry and the Prime Minister's Office.
Singh stressed that if Punjab was able to meet its target of administering two lakh shots a day, then its current supplies will last only three days.
Those intending to undertake international travel for education purposes, joining employment and as part of the Indian contingent to the Tokyo Olympics will be allowed to take the second dose of Covid vaccine Covishield prior to the prescribed time interval of 84 days after the first dose.
Asserting that India is on track to vaccinate its entire adult population by December, top officials on Monday said a blueprint is in place to ensure a total supply of 187.2 crore doses by the year-end that would be enough for the country's 94 crore 18-plus population.
This is more than 25 per cent higher as compared to the same period of the previous year when the prime minister had 78 domestic engagements.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances