Vaccination of people above 50 years starts from March

Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Monday at least 18-19 vaccine candidates against the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) are in the pipeline and in different stages of the clinical trial as he reiterated that the shots which are in the public domain are safe and effective. Addressing the media in New Delhi he said that 80-85% of frontline workers have been inoculated so far even as an inoculation drive is ongoing across the country.  India will be supplying Covid-19 vaccines to 20-25 other countries. He said that said that the government will start administering COVID-19 vaccine to a third prioritized group comprising people above 50 years of age from next month and there are 26 crore people in this category.

Dr Vardhan also said that 188 districts across the country have not reported new cases of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) in the last seven days and in 76 districts in the last 28 days. “It is crucial that people continue to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour which I had called a social vaccine, along with real vaccine,” he said. He said, COVID-19 has strengthened India's health potential as the country turned a crisis into opportunity.