Covid vaccination quota for June will be 120 million, up from 79 million in May

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The Union ministry of health and family welfare announced on Sunday that nearly 120 million vaccine doses will be available for the national Covid vaccination programme in June, even as both companies that supply the vaccines are looking to increase their production capacity from 75-80 million to 110-120 million.

As part of a free supply from the federal government, at least 60 million (60,960,000) doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be sent to states and union territories for vaccination of priority groups such as health care workers (HCWs), frontline workers (FLWs), and those aged 45 and higher. Aside from that, about 59 million vaccine doses (58,610,000) will be available for direct purchase by states and private hospitals.

The ministry, on the other hand, did not provide a state-by-state breakdown of the number of vaccine doses allotted in June. According to reports, Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, informed Union Home Minister Amit Shah that the business would increase vaccine manufacturing by 90-100 million doses in June.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine is manufactured locally by SII under the brand name Covishield.

The ministry of science and technology also stated on April 16 that it would help double the production capacity of India’s first Make-in-India Covid-19 vaccine, Covaxin, from 10 million doses per month to 20 million doses per month by May-June 2021. Covaxin was co-developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research.

The allocation of supply to states and union territories through the government of India channel is based on consumption patterns, population, and vaccine wastage. To promote better planning and delivery of vaccines, supply data are given in advance for 15/30 days.

Under the Centre’s “Liberalized Pricing and Accelerated National Covid-19 Vaccination Strategy,” 50 per cent of the available doses are earmarked for free supply from the government of India channel beginning May 1, while the remaining 50 per cent is available for direct procurement from manufacturers by states and private hospitals.

The states will also be informed in advance of the delivery schedule for the current batch of supplies. In May, the national Covid immunisation programme had a total of 79 million (79,405,200) doses available, with the Centre providing 40 million (40,349,830) doses free of charge to the states. In addition, 39 million dosages (39,055,370) were available for direct purchase.

Dr GC Khilnani, former head of the pulmonology and sleep medicine department at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Delhi, said, “All vaccines are effective in reducing the severity of the disease, and death; therefore, it is important to vaccinate people as fast as possible, especially the country’s vulnerable population,”



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