All adults will be vaccinated in "a liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination", the government said in a statement on a day India reported a new record high of 2.73 lakh cases in a day.
Vaccinations will be opened to all above 18 from May 1, the government announced today after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a series of meetings over India's response to record daily surges in Covid cases.
All adults will be vaccinated and states can buy vaccines directly from makers in the "liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination", the government said on a day the country reported a new high of 2.73 lakh cases in a day.
India began inoculating people in January using two Covid vaccines - Serum Institute of India's Covishield developed by Oxford-AstraZeneca and Bharat Biotech's made-in-India Covaxin. So far, the government had allowed vaccinations only for health workers, frontline workers and those above 45 in a centrally controlled process.
While vaccinations have been slow compared to the centre's target, the country has clocked over two lakh cases daily in the past few days.
Recently, the government fast-tracked approvals for foreign vaccines cleared in other countries.
In his meetings today, PM Modi stressed that vaccination was "the biggest weapon" in the fight against the coronavirus and urged doctors to encourage more and more patients to get vaccinated.
"The government has been working hard for over a year to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time," said the PM.
Here are key points in the liberalized vaccination rules:
- Vaccine manufacturers will supply 50 per cent of their monthly Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) released doses to the central government and will be free to supply the remaining 50% doses to state governments and in the open market.
- Manufacturers will declaration prices in advance for the vaccines supplied to state governments and in open market.
- Based on this price, state governments, private hospitals, industrial establishments can buy vaccine doses from the manufacturers.
- Vaccinations at central government centres, provided free of cost, will continue for previous categories - health workers, frontline workers and those above 45.
- The Centre will allocate vaccines from its share to States or Union Territories based on the number of cases. Vaccine wastage can affect the quota of a state.
- The second dose for existing priority groups will be priority.