The daily COVID-19 cases are being recorded at less than one lakh for the last six consecutive days.
Khan's spokesman Dr Shehbaz Gill said that the prime minister has just a slight fever and cough.
The Centre has started the process of identifying around 30 crore priority beneficiaries who will be given vaccine in the initial phase. The Centre will procure the vaccine directly and make it available free-of-cost for the priority beneficiaries.
The Centre on April 19 had announced a ''liberalised'' policy, making all above 18 years of age eligible to get vaccinated from May 1. It has also allowed state governments and private hospitals to purchase vaccines from manufacturers.
In a video issued by the Health Ministry, Dr Randeep Guleria, Director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) answered commonly asked questions regarding the dosage of the vaccine saying that two doses of the vaccine will have to be taken 28 days apart and protective levels of antibodies generally would develop two weeks after the second dose.
Satara, Sangli, Panvel have stopped vaccination while Buldhana has only one day's vaccine doses left in stock, said Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope.
"The country wide vaccination exercise is being exponentially expanded to include those above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with co-morbidities, from March 1.
If things go according to plan, the vaccine would be available in the market by the end of this year.
Several companies and technology heavyweights including Microsoft, Oracle and Salesforce are working to create a digital vaccination passport or health passport app in the hope that governments and airlines will require travellers to upload details of their Covid-19 tests and immunisation. The vaccine passport will effectively create digital credentials that could be the key to attending crowded events or even visiting countries.
Modi is also likely to launch the Co-WIN (COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network) App, a digital platform created for real-time monitoring of COVID-19 vaccine delivery and distribution.
The ministry also said that the cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 15.22 crore.
The death toll due to the disease has climbed to 5,24,792 with 15 fatalities being reported in a span of 24 hours.
His remarks promoted an instant rebuttal from BJP leader and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya who termed the statement an "insult to the doctors and scientists of the country".
The PM directed officials to evaluate various technology tools to ensure efficient and timely vaccination in due course of time. He also emphasised that detailed planning for such large scale vaccination should be undertaken immediately.
The recovery rate has dropped further to 96.95 per cent, the ministry data stated.
The US Food and Drug Administration had in February approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine that works with just one dose for emergency use.
The co-lead author of the study, Indian-origin surgeon Aneel Bhangu from the University of Birmingham, said the study was aimed at improving our understanding of the deadly virus.
New infections have spiked ahead of the Olympics, which are set to start in July
'We need to prove to the world that quality vaccines and R&D are possible in India.'
The researchers analysed 2580,021 test results from nose and throat swabs taken from 384,543 participants aged 18 years or older between December 1, 2020 and May 16, 2021.
The number of people who have recuperated from the disease has increased to 4,23,98,095.
India saw a single day rise of 1,109 new coronavirus infections taking the total tally of COVID-19 cases to 4,30,33,067, while the active cases have further declined to 11,492 , according to the Union Health Ministry data updated on Friday.
A back of the envelope calculation shows that India has roughly over 680 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines consisting primarily of Covishield doses.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "I am glad that the vaccine process for 18+ has started smoothly. It's heartening to see that youngsters are coming out in large nos to get vaccinated. Get your elders vaccinated too. Encourage ur friends and relatives also to get vaccinated."
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 countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with the inoculation of healthcare workers, while the vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2.
SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla took to Twitter to announce the "philanthropic" gesture.
These vaccines have not yet been approved by the World Health Organization
More than 1.84 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with states and UTs, while nearly 51 lakh doses are in the pipeline and will be received by them within the next three days, the Union Health Ministry said.
Covid is growing milder with time but an occasional surge in cases is expected because the virus that causes it is now endemic and constantly evolving, say scientists while assuring that there is no cause for concern.
'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'
Less than 50,000 daily new cases are being reported for 70 consecutive days.
Responding to another question, Choubey said that the phase-I of clinical trials have revealed excellent safety of the two candidate vaccines indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Council of Medical Research and Cadila Healthcare Ltd, and now their immunogenicity testing is in progress. Their phase II clinical trials are ongoing.
All COVID vaccines do not prevent infection and are primarily disease-modifying, said Dr Balram Bhargava, director general, Indian Council of Medical Research on Thursday.
Sources indicated that there were no fresh orders from the Government of India, and their supply commitments have ended as of March 31, reports Sohini Das.
The daily positivity rate was recorded at 2.89 per cent and the weekly positivity rate at 2.50 per cent, the ministry said.
According to the WHO, countries should join the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX Facility) by September 18 but not later than October 9 with upfront payments.
The government Thursday announced that differently-abled people and those with restricted mobility will be given COVID vaccine at home.
'iNCOVACC' is priced at Rs 800 for private markets and at Rs 325 for supplies to the government of India and state governments.
The firm presented that Sputnik Light vaccine is approved in 29 countries, including Russia and Argentina.
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