New Delhi: The government would be ready to vaccinate at least 3 crore people instantly if India had a vaccine today, said a top health ministry official on Tuesday.
“We have a rough estimate of about 3 crore people who have been identified to be vaccinated in the first tranche. This would include about 70-80 lakh crore doctors and around 2 crore healthcare workers,” India Today reported health ministry sources as saying.
At a media briefing on COVID-19, Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, “The expert committee on vaccine has been working on a draft prioritisation plan of the number of people to be vaccinated to the number of doses of vaccine that would be available from early January-July next year.”
“If present trials succeed, then we would be going ahead with the prioritisation list of those who are being identified,” he said.
The 2 crore frontline workers include central and state police forces, home guards, armed forces, municipal workers, and Asha workers and community workers – like cleaners, teachers and drivers.