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India Aims to Inoculate 300 Million by July

Anjana Pasricha

   NEW DELHI - India will roll out an ambitious nationwide vaccination
   drive against COVID-19 on Saturday, aiming to inoculate 300 million
   people, or nearly one quarter of the population, by July.
   Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Monday that with the upcoming
   immunization drive, which would be the world's largest such program,
   the country is entering into a "decisive phase" in the fight against
   the pandemic.
   In the first phase, 30 million health care and frontline workers such
   as police personnel will be vaccinated. The vaccines will then be
   administered to about 270 million people above the age of 50 and
   younger people with serious health problems, according to the Health
   Ministry.
   Modi underlined India's two major advantages -- the two vaccines that
   have been approved for emergency use are being manufactured
   domestically, giving it access to millions of doses.
   "This is a matter of pride for us," said the prime minister.
   In an interaction with chief ministers on the vaccination drive, Modi
   also noted Indian vaccines are more cost effective than others in the
   world.
   The price for the first 100 million doses of the British developed
   AstraZeneca vaccine will be manufactured by an Indian company and is
   expected to be around $ 2.75 per dose for the government. The vaccine
   cost will be much higher when it is made available in the private
   market.
   India is hoping its experience in running huge vaccination drives will
   come in handy as it gears up to launch the COVID-19 immunization
   program. Every year the government inoculates nearly 55 million infants
   and pregnant women against diseases such as polio and measles.

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