Health workers, people over 50 and those deemed at high-risk are prioritised for the vaccination.
New Delhi:
One of the world’s biggest coronavirus vaccine programmes will begin in India with Prime Minister Narendra Modi launching the vaccination drive at 10.30 am on Saturday.
The vaccination programme, aimed at inoculating 3 crore health and other frontline workers first, will use shots manufactured in India – one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, the other by Bharat Biotech with the country’s top clinical research body.
Health workers, people over 50 and those deemed at high-risk are prioritised to receive one of the two approved vaccines.
On day one around 3,00,000 people will receive the first of two doses.
Authorities say they are drawing on their experience with elections and child immunisation programmes for polio and tuberculosis in rolling out the vaccine.
Here are the live updates on COVID-19 vaccination:
Sanitation workers who attend to COVID-19 wards at Goa Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) would be among the first to be administered the COVID-19 vaccine in Goa as a nationwide inoculation drive starts on Saturday.
GMCH Dean Dr Shivanand Bandekar said they have selected 100 sanitation workers attached to the hospital, including those hired through a private firm, for receiving the first doses of vaccine in the state.
These workers have been attending to COVID-19 wards of GMCH, he said.
A dozen doctors in Assam have volunteered to take the first vaccine shots today at the Gauhati Medical College to dispel rumours about the Covid vaccine and encourage their fraternity as the country gears up for the the world’s biggest inoculation drive against the deadly coronavirus.
Assam has registered 2.9 lakh frontline healthcare workers for the first phase of the vaccination drive, of whom 1.9 lakh will be inoculated today.
The state has received 2.21 lakh doses of Covid vaccines so far. This includes over 2 lakh doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine and 20 thousand doses of Covaxin indigenously developed by Bharat Biotech.
The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 10:30 am today, setting off India on the path towards overcoming the pandemic that has upended lives, ravaged the economy and unleashed unprecedented suffering over the last 12 months.
One of the world’s biggest vaccination programmes aimed at inoculating 3 crore health and other frontline workers first, it will use shots manufactured in India – one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, the other by Bharat Biotech with the country’s top clinical research body.
