No timeline for end of Covid vaccination drive but all adults will be inoculated by December: Centre

The Centre on Friday told Parliament that it couldn’t give a fixed timeline for the completion of the Covid-19 vaccination drive at present, but expected all adults to be inoculated by December this year.

Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar was responding to questions from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy in the Lok Sabha.

The MPs had asked the Centre if it proposed to complete the vaccination drive by December. They also put forth questions about the projected estimate of vaccine availability from August­ to December, the estimated production capacity of domestic vaccine manufacturers, the shots that the government was planning to import and the amount spent on vaccination so far.

The leaders also asked if the government had taken note of delays in signing buying agreements with vaccine manufacturers, which was hurting the pace of the inoculation drive.

Pawar said in her written reply that vaccination was an ongoing and dynamic process, being monitored by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19. “In view of the dynamic and evolving nature of Covid-19 pandemic, no fixed timeline at present can be indicated for the completion of vaccination drive, however, it is expected that…

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