COVID-19 Vaccination in India: 30 Crore People to Be Vaccinated Against Coronavirus in First Phase, Says Max Hospital Cardiologist

New Delhi, January 3: As the country is eagerly waiting for the COVID-19 vaccination programme to begin, Dr Manoj Kumar, senior cardiologist at Max Hospital, New Delhi said that in the first phase, almost 30 crore population will be covered.

"Recently, the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has approved the Serum Institute of India (SII) vaccine Covishield. There is also the possibility that COVAXIN of Bharat Biotech will be approved. This is good news in New Year. In the initial phase, they have planned to vaccinate one crore healthcare workers and two crore frontline corona warriors. In the first phase of vaccination, they are planning to vaccinate almost 30 crore population" Dr Kumar told ANI. Bharat Biotech Recruits 23,000 Volunteers for Phase 3 Clinical Trials of COVID-19 Vaccine 'Covaxin' Across Multiple Sites in India.

Dr Kumar said that vaccination is based on two things -essentiality and vulnerability.

"The healthcare workers and frontline corona warriors are a priority and are essential. But people having more than 65 years of age having co-morbidities, they are also important and vulnerable. So almost 30 crore doses are planned for the first phase of the vaccination," he added.

The Subject Expert Committee of CDSCO met on Friday and Saturday and recommended to grant the permission for restricted emergency use of the vaccine, subject to multiple regulatory conditionalities, to Serum Institute of India, Pune.

It also recommended the grant of permission for restricted use in an emergency situation in the public interest as an abundant precaution, in clinical trial mode, especially in the context of infection by mutant strains, to Bharat Biotech International Ltd Hyderabad.

The recommendations were made for the consideration and final decision of the Drugs Controller General of India. Covaxin is an indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan had on Saturday said that in the first phase of COVID-19 vaccination, free vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries that include one crore healthcare and two crore frontline workers.

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