The Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry said that more than 55 per cent of the health care workers have been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine in the country.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha today, Health and Family Welfare Minister, Dr. Harshvardhan informed that vaccination of front line workers have also begun from 2nd February of this month. He said, beneficiaries as prioritized by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration will be taken up as part of the ongoing process once substantial coverage of the vaccination of health care workers and front line workers is achieved.

The Minister informed that two COVID-19 vaccines require completion of two dose schedules at an interval of 28 days to complete the vaccination process. He said, it takes around 14 days after the second dose to develop immunity against the Coronavirus.

Dr. Harshvardhan said, supply orders of 410 lakh doses have been placed by the government for these vaccines. He said, these supply orders also include 100 lakh doses received from Gavi support through Covax facility. He informed that a total of Rs 480 crore have been allocated to the States and Union Territories for operational cost for COVID-19 vaccination programme.