India will be in position to vaccinate all adults by end of year: Harsh Vardhan

NEW DELHI: Union health minister Harsh Vardhan reiterated the central government's goal to vaccinate the entire adult population of India against Covid-19 by the end of this year.
In an official statement, Vardhan said that India will have 267 crore vaccine doses by the end of the year which will enable it to cover all those who are above the age of 18.
He said that 51 crore doses will be made available by July and 216 crore more between August and December.
He urged states to ensure that the healthcare and frontline workers are fully vaccinated, as they form the vulnerable categories.
The minister also highlighted critical challenges faced by the northeastern states and West Bengal, which are witnessing a sharp rise in cases even as the national numbers are coming down.
West Bengal and the eight states of the North-eastern region are depicting a higher growth rate in the number of daily cases, high mortality and increasing positivity rate, according to the health ministry statement.
Pointing out the new emerging trend in the country, Vardhan highlighted that now smaller states are showing an upward trend in terms of number of infections and there is a need to be cautious about this.
He also stressed on the need to focus on semi-urban and rural areas significantly.
India has so far administered over 18.5 crore vaccine doses. All those who are above the age of 18 is eligible to get vaccinated.
However, the vaccination programme has slowed down over the last couple of weeks due to the shortage of doses of both Covishield and Covaxin in several states.