A source closely involved in logistical arrangements said the movement of vaccine doses is likely to start from early Tuesday morning through road and air routes amid elaborate police security.
The Union Health Ministry on Friday asked all states and union territories to initiate vaccination of frontline workers against COVID-19 from the first week of February.
Apart from the 1.1 crore doses of Covishield being procured from the Serum Institute of India, 55 lakh doses of indigenously developed Covaxin were being obtained from Bharat Biotech, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said at a press conference.
Earlier, it was reported that the judges of the apex court would get the option to choose between Covaxin or Covishield vaccines. Later, the Union health ministry, in a clarification, said the judges have not been given any such option to choose between both the vaccines, adding that it will be conducted entirely through Co-Win system.
'We are not dependent only on the two vaccines as the country is working on seven more indigenous vaccines'
Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said vaccine effectiveness will be seen only after 14 days.
Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said Zydus Cadila, Sputnik V, Biological E and Gennova are other vaccines also in the pipeline which are in advanced clinical trials in India.
Under the conditions, the firms shall submit data of ongoing clinical trials and the vaccines to be supplied for programmatic setting.Adverse event following immunisation will continue to be monitored.
Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla on Wednesday said it has restarted manufacturing of Covid-19 vaccine Covishield amid rising numbers of cases of the virus infection.
The Union Health Ministry on Friday announced that those above the age of 18 years who have completed nine months after the administration of the second dose will be eligible for the precaution dose.
Despite these rare occurrences, the pharmaceutical company maintains that extensive clinical trial data and real-world evidence consistently support the vaccine's safety and efficacy.
'Since we have to stop the pandemic, we have to use the vaccines now and that is why the emergency-use approval is justifiable.'
SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to announce the "philanthropic" gesture.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.
The Centre has shared a set of parameters with all states and UTs to enable service providers and monitoring teams under the national COVID-19 vaccination programme to identify any fake COVID-19 vaccines so that they are not administered in the country.
The highest number of vaccines were administered in UP at 21,291 followed by Andhra Pradesh at 18,412, Maharashtra at 18,328, Bihar at 18,169, Odisha at 13,746, Karnataka at 13,594, Gujarat at 10,787, Rajasthan at 9,279, West Bengal at 9,730, Madhya Pradesh at 9,219, Kerala at 8,062.
Two male volunteers were administered the vaccine at Bharti Vidyapeeth's Medical College and Hospital, a senior office-bearer of the hospital said.
The quantity of Covid vaccines to be exported will be decided by the government every month to ensure there is no dearth of domestic availability.
The seasoned PR Sreejesh led the way as the Olympic-bound Indian hockey teams on Thursday received their first dose of COVID-19 vaccines in Bengaluru.
Chief Medical Officer Sandip Chaudhary on Wednesday said he has ordered an inquiry into the matter and assured stern action against those found responsible for this negligence.
Serum Institute of India has urged Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya to consider reducing the gap between the second and the precaution dose of Covishield from the current nine months to three, in line with Centre's revised guidelines for officials on election duty, official sources said on Thursday.
The inoculation drive will start at 10.30 am at 150 centers across the state on Saturday along with the rest of the country, Madhya Pradesh Health Minister Dr Prabhuram Choudhary said.
The Maharashtra government on Saturday evening announced suspension of the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the state till Monday owing to problems in the Co-Win app.
A number of Indian medical experts on Monday supported calls from an eminent British Indian cardiologist for a full safety review into the use of Oxford/AstraZeneca's Covid-19 vaccine, administered in India as Covishield, over feared serious side effects such as heart attack and stroke.
Trinamool Congress leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy on Thursday claimed that West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar could also be involved in the fake vaccination camp scam.
"There is no sufficient supply of vaccine vials by the Centre for inoculation of above-45 age group people. Hence, the state cabinet decided to divert the stock, purchased for the 18-44 age group, for the above-45 age group," Health Minister Rajesh Tope said.
The study titled 'Serendipitous COVID-19 Vaccine-Mix in Uttar Pradesh, India: Safety and Immunogenicity Assessment of a Heterologous Regime' has been uploaded on medRxiv, a preprint server and is yet to be peer reviewed.
"The phase-III trial of 'Covishield' vaccine will begin at Sassoon hospital from next week. It is likely to start on Monday. Some volunteers have already come forward for the trial. "Around 150 to 200 volunteers will be administered the vaccine candidate dose," Dean of the state-run Sassoon General Hospital Dr Muralidhar Tambe said.
A senior citizen in West Bengal's Dhupguri area died allegedly after being administered the Covishield vaccine, prompting his family members to lodge a police complaint, an official said on Tuesday.
The Bombay high court on Saturday directed the central government to file an affidavit detailing the manner and methods of allocating COVID-19 vaccines to states.
Two men, aged 32 and 48, were given the first shot of the 'Covishield' vaccine, being manufactured by Pune-based Serum Institute of India, at Bharti Vidyapeeth's Medical College and Hospital on Wednesday. The dose will be repeated after one month, an official said.
The PM's visit would signal a strong intent towards making sure India becomes a beneficiary as vaccines become a massively traded commodity in the coming years.
Delhi and some other states have said that they would be unable to do so due to the shortage of vaccine doses.
The study by a group of doctors showed that after two shots of the vaccines, 98 per cent recipients of Covishield showed antibody response, while the same was 80 per cent among Covaxin recipients. Sohini Das and Ruchika Chitravanshi report.
The IOA had also urged five Olympic-bound sportspersons, who have recovered from COVID-19 in the recent past, to take their first dose of the vaccine as soon as possible.
Choubey said till February 4 total 81 AEFIs, which is 0.096 per cent of the total beneficiaries who have been administered Covaxin, have been reported.
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.
Satara, Sangli, Panvel have stopped vaccination while Buldhana has only one day's vaccine doses left in stock, said Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
Earlier this month, India had said that all British nationals arriving in India from the UK will have to undergo a mandatory 10-day quarantine if they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Poonawalla wished the country and Prime Minister Narendra Modi success for the vaccination programme.
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