India launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 from April 1. The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 eligible to be vaccinated from May 1.
"The present rate of COVID-19 vaccine supply," will take another year for all to get vaccinated, says the Delhi health department.
ICMR said that mixing and matching of vaccines Covishield and Covaxin can yeild better results against Covid-19.
The meeting was held to discuss the Covishield supply and to ramp up the production in India. Minister Mandaviya assured the government's support in Covishield production.
Five states -- Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh -- have administered more than one crore vaccine doses each to beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group.
The monthly vaccine production capacity of Covishield is projected to be increased from 110 million doses per month to more than 120 million doses per month and the production capacity of Covaxin is projected to be increased from 25 million doses per month to around 58 million doses per month, government said.
The government on Tuesday informed the Parliament that no recommendation was made on mixing anti-coronavirus vaccines.
The Delhi government had on July 22 ordered that only the second dose of Covishield vaccine will be administered at government inoculation centres till July 31 due to limited supply.
The government has placed an order for 10 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India at a cost of USD 52.5 million.
An expert panel of India's central drug authority on Thursday recommended granting permission to the Christian Medical College (CMC) in Vellore for conducting a clinical trial of mixing of two COVID-19 vaccines -- Covaxin and Covishield -- official sources said.
59-year-old Manual Mathai has taken up the complaint with the district medical officer of Wayanad along with copies of the vaccine certificate he received.
"Protection to the extent of 93 per cent was seen (in people who were administered the Covishield vaccine) and this was during the second wave which was driven by the Delta variant... also 98 per cent mortality reduction was seen," NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr V K Paul said.
The issue of the acceptance of the Covishield vaccine as proof of immunisation for travel to the EU Member States has been widely discussed recently, after several countries in the block have refused to recognise the vaccine.
"India's cumulative COVID vaccination coverage has surpassed 40 crore (40,44,67,526)," according to a provisional report compiled at 7 pm.
The move to accept visitors vaccinated with AstraZeneca's vaccine made by India's Serum Institute came after a global outcry over the fact that the European Union's COVID-19 certificate only recognises AstraZeneca vaccines manufactured in Europe.
The Union government had earlier allowed states and private hospitals to procure 50 per cent of the vaccines following demands for decentralisation of the process.
The shortage is going to end soon because the United States has purchased Pfizer’s vaccine which will start to come online in August, said USAID Administrator Samantha Power.
The couple — and millions of other people who have been vaccinated through a U.N.-backed effort — could find themselves barred from entering many European and other countries because those nations don’t recognize the Indian-made version of the vaccine for travel.
Interacting with reporters, he also urged people not to lower the guard, and reiterated that experts have already cautioned about the chance of a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Raising the issue of shortage of Covid vaccines in the city, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted, "Vaccines have run out in Delhi again.
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