COVID-19 vaccine will be administered within 3-4 weeks of availability: Delhi Health Minister

Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain on Saturday stated that the COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to all Delhiites within three to four weeks of its availability. He also said that the vaccination will be administered to all people residing in the National Capital with the help of health facilities such as polyclinics.

"Whenever the vaccine is available in Delhi, within 3-4 weeks it will be administered all over the national capital with the help of our health facilities such as polyclinics," Satyendra Jain told ANI.

Jain's statement comes at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a three-city vaccine tour (on Saturday, November 28), personally visiting facilities to review the development and manufacturing process of the COVID-19 vaccine candidates in the country.

About the visits, the PMO (Prime Minister's Office) said that they are meant to help the PM Modi in getting a "first-hand perspective of the preparations, challenges and roadmap in India's endeavour to vaccinate its citizens."

The PM visited pharma major Zydus Cadila's plant in Gujarat earlier in the day. After which he headed to Hyderabad to visit Bharat Biotech's facility. His final stop will be Pune where he will visit the Serum Institute of India's (SII) Pune facility. Serum Institute, which is the world's largest manufacturer of vaccines by volume, had partnered with AstraZeneca to mass-produce the COVID-19 vaccine.

SII is expected to produce 1 billion doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine candidate. These doses will be given to middle and low-income countries, including India.

Also read: 10 COVID-19 vaccines likely to be available by mid-2021: IFPMA

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