The COVID vaccination drive in India was flagged off by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on January 16th! After a number of companies which have developed COVID-19 vaccines approached the Indian government for emergency use approval in our country, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), approved the emergency use of the indigenously developed vaccines - Covaxin & Covishield. The Central Government had also signed contracts with Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute of India, for purchasing their vaccines. The COVID vaccination drive began on January 16th and in the 3 days since, over 3.8 lakh people have been vaccinated across the nation. The Union Health Ministry has reported that among thise inoculated with vaccines, 580 cases of adverse effects have been reported so far.

Today (January 18th), has been the day with the maximum number of vaccinations so far, with 1,48,266 people being vaccinated till 5:00 pm today. The Central government has advised the States & Union Territories to hold COVID vaccinations on 4 days a week, so there havent been vaccinations across all regions of India on the same day. There have been a number of glitches in the Government developed Co-WIN app, which is being used for registering people for the vaccination drive. The central government has been monitoring the situation and are in constant touch with the states to identify the issues and smoothen the vaccination process. Among those vaccinated so far, 580 cases of Adverse Event Following Immunisation (AEFI), have been reported so far.

The number of new COVID-19 cases being reported across the country have been below 20,000 for the past 10 days. The overall recoveries across India have crossed 1 Crore and the deaths have been marked at 1.52 lakhs! The Maharashtra government had stopped the vaccination drive in the state, after a number of glitches were reported in the Co-WIN app. This drive is set to be restarted from tomorrow. The first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country is reported to inoculate over 3 crore people, all of them being healthcare and frontline workers. The second phase will be for people over 50 years of age and next will be the people below 50 years but with co-morbidities! Stay tuned for updates...