COVID-19 Vaccine Likely By 1st Quarter Of 2021, Says Health Minister Harsh Vardhan

New Delhi: No date has been fixed for its launch, but the coronavirus vaccine may be ready by the first quarter of 2021, according to Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Harsh Vardhan.

He also said that the Union government may order COVID-19 vaccination on an emergency basis for senior citizens and people working in high-risk settings. “This shall be done after a consensus has been reached,” the minister said on Sunday during an online interaction under the programme ‘Sunday Samvaad’.

Dr Vardhan further volunteered to receive the COVID-19 vaccine first if people have a “trust deficit” on the drug.

“Issues like vaccine security, cost, equity, cold-chain requirements and production timelines are being discussed intensely,” he Vardhan said.

“The government has seen reports of alleged black-marketing of drugs like Remdesivir and has asked the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation to take action along with their state counterparts,” the minister while interacting with people on social media.

As many as 94,372 cases were reported in the last 24 hours, pushing India’s coronavirus tally to 47,54,356. The number of fatalities rose to 78,586 with 1,114 more deaths. A total of 37,02,595 patients have recovered from the infection in the country.