Coronavirus Vaccine: India seeks up to 500m doses by July

Reuters, New Delhi
India hopes to receive up to 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine by July to inoculate about 250 million people, health minister Harsh Vardhan said yesterday, as infections in the world's second-worst affected country continue to surge.

India's has recorded some 6.55 million infections, with 75,829 in the past 24 hours, while Covid-19-related deaths have totalled 101,782, health ministry data showed.

"There is a high-level expert body going into all aspects of vaccines," Vardhan wrote on Twitter. "Our rough estimate and the target would be to receive and utilise 400 to 500 million doses covering (200 million-250 million) people by July 2021."

India has set up committees to look into various aspects of the vaccine supply chain, including availability timelines for various vaccines, while obtaining commitments from manufacturers to ensure the maximum doses are available, Vardhan said.

To prioritise the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, the health ministry aims to prepare a list of key personnel, such as frontline health workers, by the end of the month.