Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said the Covid-19 vaccine will be provided to people free of cost across the country, a day after a government-appointed panel of experts cleared one of the remedies.
“Not just in Delhi, it will be free across the country,” Vardhan said as quoted by Times Now.
The government-appointed panel on Friday cleared the Serum Institute of India’s Oxford vaccine, which will be sent for approval to the regulator Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).
In 1st phase of #COVID19Vaccination free #vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries that incl 1 crore healthcare & 2 crore frontline workers
Details of how further 27 cr priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalised pic.twitter.com/K7NrzGrgk3— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 2, 2021
Vardhan on Friday chaired a high-level meeting to review preparedness at session sites across the country for Covid-19 vaccination trial run on Saturday.
The dry run of Covid-19 vaccine is underway at designated locations in all states of India.
In the dry runs, participants will receive dummy Covid-19 vaccines to test the mechanisms ahead of the actual vaccination drive.
“There should be no rumours about the vaccine’s safety…Everything has been checked in detail. Initially when the polio vaccine was rolled out, even then rumours had floated. But once it went on the floor, all people were assured about the safety,” Vardhan said.
