COVID-19 Vaccination Drive To Be Extended Soon, Says Health Minister

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said it is not scientifically necessary to administer the vaccine to each and every person in the country.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan today said the COVID-19 vaccination drive will be extended in the coming days and assured that there should not be any misconceptions about the two Indian vaccines being administered in in the country. During the Question Hour in Lok Sabha, Mr Vardhan said India has vaccinated 3.5 to 4 crore people so far and side effects of the vaccines has been recorded at 0.000432 per cent. "Every vaccine doesn't require universal immunisation and all these priority groups whom we are vaccinating today like healthcare staff first and then senior citizens and people aged between 45 and 59 years, it will be extended in the coming days - all these are based on experts' opinion. Not only Indian experts, but we have also consulted WHO guidelines regarding priority groups," he said. Serum Institute's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin have been currently approved for restricted emergency use in India.