Categories: Economy

Bharat Biotech vaccine lands in 11 cities for rolling out jabs on Jan 16

The first lot of Bharat Biotech's Covid vaccine, Covaxin, were flown out of Hyderabad on Wednesday to Delhi and 10 other cities, a day after Pune-based Serum Institute of India started shipping out stocks of its vaccine ahead of the nationwide inoculation campaign to fight coronavirus starting on Saturday.

The country’s commercial airlines Air India, IndiGo and Spicejet are being used for transporting the vaccines on regular flights.

The first consignment, which reportedly included three boxes weighing 80.5 kg, was flown to Delhi by Air India. Apart from Delhi, the vaccines are being sent to Bengaluru, Chennai, Patna, Jaipur and Lucknow, officials said.

According to the Health Ministry, 55 lakh doses of Covaxin and 1.1 crore doses of Serum Institute’s Covishield are being procured by the government in the first phase. Both these vaccines were approved by the country's drug regulator for restricted emergency use earlier this month.

Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said on Tuesday that individuals will not be allowed to choose the vaccine they prefer due to logistical limitations and the products being in short supply.

Bharat Biotech is charging ₹ 295 per dose for 38.5 lakh doses. The company, which has partnered with the Indian Council of Medical Research for the vaccine, will give 16.5 lakh doses to the government free of cost.

The Centre has received 54,72,000 doses of vaccines against the coronavirus so far, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. "100 percent doses to be received by January 14 in all states/UTs," it added. Both Covishield and Covaxin are two-dose vaccines, with the second dose being administered after a 28-day gap..

AddThis Website Tools
indianarrative

Recent Posts

All visa applications treated on merit basis, MEA on US visa issues for Indian nationals

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has taken note of the new guidelines issued by…

3 hours ago

“India’s concern on terrorism was not acceptable to one country’: MEA on Rajnath Singh refusal to sign SCO joint statement

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday said India refused to sign the joint declaration…

3 hours ago

India evacuated 3,426 Indian nationals from Iran, 818 from Israel in Operation Sindhu: MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that India, so far have evacuated…

3 hours ago

Axiom-4 piloted by Group Captain Shukla docks successfully at International Space Station

Axiom 4 mission aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft successfully docked at the International Space Station…

4 hours ago

First Kashmiri-Kannada film ‘Harmukh’ captivates audience in Srinagar

In a significant moment for regional cinema and cultural dialogue, the premiere of 'Harmukh', the…

5 hours ago

“Language is the soul of a nation, not just a medium of communication,” says Union Minister Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that languages were not just a medium…

7 hours ago