The official expressed hope on the success of the five vaccines that are under different phases of trial in the country.
The CM urged the Centre to provide it 85 lakh doses per month so that all the Delhiites could be vaccinated in the next three months.
The states and Union territories were also urged not to store, reserve, conserve or create a buffer stock of the COVID-19 vaccines, the Union health ministry said in a statement, a day after the start of the second phase of India's inoculation drive in which the coverage has been expanded to include everyone above 60 and those over 45 with specified co-morbidities.
Around 25,000 total of all paramilitary paramedics and doctors will be vaccinated in the first phase.
'You will not have a vaccine for everyone initially.'
'Pfizer India has submitted an application on December 4 to the DCGI seeking emergency use authorization for its COVID-19 vaccine in India'
Announcements will be made on airplanes, ships, metros and at railway stations when India achieves its target of 100 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses while private carrier Spicejet will wrap its planes with posters of this milestone carrying images of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and health workers, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Thursday.
'The residents are a bit apprehensive about the lack of complete trial in case of Covaxin and might not participate in huge numbers thus defeating the purpose of vaccination. We request you to vaccinate us with Covishield which has completed all stages of trial before its roll-out'
Formula One will make it mandatory for all personnel working in its paddock to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, without exemption, starting this season.
The sources said all stakeholders will have to work together to adjust the schedules as required and the pandemic can only be dealt collectively by such cooperation.
This is the world's first DNA-based vaccine against the coronavirus, and this three-dose vaccine when injected produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response, which plays a vital role in protection from the disease as well as viral clearance
Voicing concern over many countries failing to vaccinate their people, World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Thursday called for vaccinating at least 10 per cent of the population of every country by September as he described vaccination as the best way to control the pandemic and reboot the global economy.
The Pune-based vaccine major has entered into a collaboration with the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca to manufacture the vaccine.
Railway employees including station masters, engine drivers, ticket checkers, etc too have been selected for vaccination and their list is being compiled for the exercise.
COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, is a worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directed by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and the World Health Organisation.
"India expands its vaccine basket! Johnson and Johnson's single-dose COVID-19 vaccine is given approval for Emergency Use in India. Now India has 5 EUA vaccines. This will further boost our nation's collective fight against COVID-19," tweeted the minister.
Ravi Shastri, 58, received his shot at the Apollo hospital in Ahmedabad.
The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) on Thursday said all the Tokyo Games-bound athletes and officials have got their first COVID-19 vaccine and they will get their second doses before their departure from the country for the multi-sporting spectacle.
Pfizer sought to participate in the Subject Expert Committee consultations towards an emergency use authorisation for its Covid-19 vaccine. However, the company representatives have been unable to participate in the meetings because of extremely short notices of a few hours or less and time-zone limitations.
"Corona vaccine is the need of the country. You all should also raise your voice for it. Everyone has the right to a safe life," he said in a tweet.
Scientists around the world, including in India, suggest it hasn't been tested properly given the time constraint and there may not be enough evidence to prove its efficacy.
Calling vaccination an exercise in "preparedness and prevention", the vaccinologist said the immune response that is made has nothing to fight immediately but "we train the immune system to recognise the virus if and when it comes".
Researchers at Public Health Scotland and the University of Edinburgh, UK, found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine offered better protection against the Delta variant compared to the Oxford-AstraZeneca preventive, known as Covishield in India.
The government's move to freely supply coronavirus vaccines to the states for universal inoculation and extend free rations to help the poor tide over the pandemic will only add an additional 40 bps of GDP to fiscal deficit, says a report, which also called for more transparent vaccine distribution plan for efficient vaccine allocation to the states.
Covaxin is being developed by Bharat Biotech, in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research - National Institute of Virology.
Winning against Covid means thinking ahead, at least six months, putting in place the likely scenarios of what might happen, and then planning. Planning is the role of the government. Having planned, it should communicate what and why. Then, get out of the way, recommends Naushad Forbes.
Easing restrictions, all private hospitals were on Tuesday allowed to give the vaccines if they adhere to the laid down norms, while the 9 am to 5 pm timing was also done away with.
The United States has so far allocated only 7.5 million doses of Covid vaccines to India, which is not enough, a top Indian-American Congressman said while urging the Biden Administration to do more.
However, in two different dose regimens, the vaccine's efficacy was 90 per cent in one and 62 per cent in the other.
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.
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.
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.
