COVID-19: India will be in position to vaccinate at least all of its adult population by end of 2021, says Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

Harsh Vardhan stated that between August and December 2021, India will have procured 216 crore coronavirus vaccine doses.

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New Delhi: Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Harsh Vardhan on Friday (May 21, 2021) said that India will be in a position to administer COVID-19 vaccines to at least all of its adult population by the end of 2021. 

While reviewing the public health response to COVID-19 and the progress of vaccination with nine states and UTs, Vardhan stated that the government is in the active process of supporting the manufacturer of vaccines for ramping up vaccine availability in the country. 

He expressed hope that in the subsequent months, there will be an exponential rise in the production of vaccines in the country. 

The Union Health Minister added that by July this year, 51 crore coronavirus vaccine doses will be procured, while between August and December 2021, India will have procured 216 crore doses.

He also emphasised the need to step up vaccination and reiterated the need to dedicate 70% of vaccines provided by the central government for the second dose. 

As of Saturday morning (May 22), a total of 19.73 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the country. 

During the meeting, Harsh Vardhan also presented a snapshot of the COVID-19 situation in all the states and UTs. 

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, in Chhattisgarh, intense transmission has been observed since March 2021. The state was observing a near positivity rate of 30% at the start of May. In Himachal Pradesh, there are more than 35,000 active cases, while the fatality rate (1.44%) is much higher than the national average.

Harsh Vardhan underlined the issues like complacency, marriages, super spreader events etc, for the steep rise in cases in Himachal Pradesh. He informed that Goa is witnessing a rising trend with 22,000 active cases. Daman and Diu has 366 active cases and a declining trend is being observed. Similarly, Ladakh is also showing a declining trend with 1,500 active cases at present.

Harsh Vardhan cautioned towards the new emerging trend in the country and highlighted that now the smaller states are showing an upward trend and there is a dire need to be extremely cautious. He asked the states to follow the basic principles of COVID Appropriate Behaviour along with testing, tracking, tracing, treating and now vaccinating to fight against the pandemic.