Union health minister Harsh Vardhan said the Covid-19 vaccine may be ready by the first quarter of next year. However, no date for launching the vaccine has been fixed yet.
The Minister addressed the first episode of his Sunday Samvaad and interacted with his followers replied to several questions posed by them.
Harsh Vardhan made it clear that senior citizens would give first priority to frontline workers, even if they did not have the financial means to buy the vaccine.
"The government of India will assure that the vaccine will be made available to those who need it the most, irrespective of their paying capacity," he said.
The Minister also said he will be happy to receive the first dose of the vaccine. He assured the government is taking all the precautions in conducting the human trials of the vaccine. Issues like vaccine security, equity, cost, cold-chain requirements, production timelines, etc., are also being discussed intensely.
The Minister addressed the first episode of his Sunday Samvaad and interacted with his followers replied to several questions posed by them.
Harsh Vardhan made it clear that senior citizens would give first priority to frontline workers, even if they did not have the financial means to buy the vaccine.
"The government of India will assure that the vaccine will be made available to those who need it the most, irrespective of their paying capacity," he said.
The Minister also said he will be happy to receive the first dose of the vaccine. He assured the government is taking all the precautions in conducting the human trials of the vaccine. Issues like vaccine security, equity, cost, cold-chain requirements, production timelines, etc., are also being discussed intensely.