Vaccinating 100-200 people in each session per day, monitoring them for 30 minutes after administering the shots for any adverse event and allowing only one beneficiary at a time are among the guidelines issued by the Centre for the COVID-19 inoculation drive.
In a statement, the ministry said 40,650 COVID-19 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be received by the states/UTs within the next three days.
Dominic Xavier wonders why Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan and his health ministry are not urgently addressing this vaccine shortage at a time when the nation confronts its worst health crisis.
With just two days to go before the COVID-19 vaccination opens for the people above 18 years and only two days after Maharashtra administered the highest number of 5 lakh doese in a day, reports of the shortage of the vaccines poured in from various parts of the state on Wednesday including Mumbai, officials said.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation told the Bombay High Court on Monday that it does not apprehend a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the city as the vaccination drive is going on smoothly, with over 42 lakh people fully vaccinated and over 82 lakh people having received the first dose.
Some residents also wondered if this was a bid to "divert people to private hospitals" for paid jabs rather than getting free vaccine doses at government centres.
The Centre has asked states and union territories witnessing surge in new COVID-19 cases and high active caseload to continue with the strategy of 'test, track and treat' that had yielded rich dividends at the height of the pandemic and accelerate vaccination for priority population groups in districts reporting higher infections on mission mode.
The Union health minister said a high-level expert group is going into all the aspects of vaccines and the health ministry is preparing a format in which states will submit lists of priority population groups.
India logged 16,299 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of cases to 4,42,06,996 while the active cases declined to 1,25,076, according to the Union health ministry data updated on Thursday.
In phase I, the vaccine would be tested on 375 volunteers and the maximum of 100 of them would be from AIIMS.
This is for the first time that a booster dose that is different from the one used for primary vaccination against COVID has been allowed in the country.
The NTAGI has recommended that those who need to travel overseas can take the precaution dose of Covid vaccine as required by the country they are travelling to, before the stipulated nine-month waiting period, sources told PTI.
Facing an acute shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, the Odisha government on Monday decided to float a global tender for procuring the vaccine to inoculate the states entire population, Chief Secretary S C Mohapatra said.
The urgent need to address a large number of beneficiaries waiting for second dose of vaccine was stressed in a meeting held by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Dr R S Sharma, the Chairman of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to Combat COVID-19, with state officials to review the status of COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday.
He also said that there were around 620 cases of black fungus or mucormycosis in the city, but there is a shortage of Amphotericin-B injections used in its treatment.
COVID-19 is on the verge of becoming endemic but Indian scientists are keeping a close watch on each new variant and the government would continue to maintain a high alert, Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya has said, underlining that the virus has managed to survive and is going to stay.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar on Friday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi is serious and proactive about the state's issues and accuses people under PM of not taking this issue with same seriousness.
The distribution of the Covid-19 vaccine is underway across the world. To provide a convenient and safe place for people to receive COVID-19 vaccines, countries around the world transform shopping malls, churches, airports, subway stations and museums to vaccination centers. Some also offer vaccination services on the river and mountain.
There are around 280 wards in Delhi. The BLOs will visit households in 72 wards from Tuesday to identify and send eligible persons for vaccination at the polling booths, he said.
Vardhan noted that COVID-19 infection among those vaccinated would be very mild and not progress to an advanced stage.
More than 31 per cent of the country's adult population has been administered both the doses, according to Union Health Ministry officials.
Anybody over 50 years of age or with co-morbidities can get a date, place and time of choice for getting the vaccine shots.
With 19,893 new coronavirus infections being reported in a day, India's total tally of COVID-19 cases rose to 4,40,87,037, while the active cases dipped to 1,36,478, according to the Union health ministry data.
This follows a widespread criticism of its pricing policy as it sold Covaxin to the central government at Rs 150 per dose.
The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to place on record all relevant documents and file notings reflecting its thinking culminating in the COVID-19 vaccination policy, and the purchase history till date of all jabs including Covaxin, Covishield and Sputnik V.
'In the coming two-three months, we need to be cautious that there is no upsurge'
As states grapple with a shortage of coronavirus vaccines, the Centre on Thursday said that over two billion doses will be made available in the country in five months between August and December, enough to vaccinate the entire population.
The ministry further stated that it was advisable to receive a complete schedule of the anti-coronavirus vaccine irrespective of past history of infection with COVID-19 as this will help in developing a strong immune response against the disease.
Loud applause and cheers rang out as the first jabs were administered to frontline workers at hospitals and healthcare centres across the country on Saturday at the start of the gargantuan COVID-19 vaccination exercise, hailed as a 'momentous' occasion in India's fight against the pandemic.
'The problem is delaying (or missing) the second dose would probably keep you at a 20 per cent risk of still getting COVID-19, till you are fully immunised.'
India will share the development story of Co-WIN, the digital platform that helped it launch and implement a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination programme, with more than 20 countries that have shown interest in adopting the portal to run their own inoculation drives.
Indians being evacuated from Ukraine have been exempted from pre-boarding RT-PCR test, providing Covid vaccination certificates and uploading those on the Air Suvidha portal, the health ministry said.
As China's hospitals struggle to cope with the spike of infected people, the Communist party government seem confused over what measures can be taken to control the virus.
Vaccination of the people above 45 years will not be conducted in Mumbai on Monday due to the shortage of vaccines, the city civic body said on Sunday.
'Almost 70 per cent production time of a vaccine is dedicated to quality control, which is done through several hundred tests.'
Only half India's population has received the first shot of Covishield and Covaxin and the government's immediate task is to first vaccinate its adult population before placing its focus on children.
An official source said Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has desired for the resumption of printing of the prime minister's photo on the Covid vaccination certificates in these states on top priority.
For vaccination, online registration is mandatory. Thereafter, eligible beneficiaries will be informed on their registered mobile number about the nearest vaccination facility, and the date and time of vaccination.
Under flak from the opposition for 'diverting' Covid vaccines to private hospitals to make a profit, the Punjab government on Friday asked them to return all stock meant for the 18-44 age group.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances