Ready to roll out Covid vaccine within 10 days from authorisation date: Govt

New Delhi, Jan 05: Based on feedback of dry-run, the government said on Tuesday that coronavirus vaccination can be rolled out within 10 days from the emergency use authorisation date, ending speculation about the time frame that started since the drug regulator's announcement on Sunday.

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the government was ready to roll out the vaccine drive within 10 days from approval. "Now since the approval has been granted, the vaccine drive will be rolled out within 10 days from that day Sunday, January 3," he said.

"Healthcare workers and frontline workers would not need to register themselves as a beneficiary as their data is bulk database that has been populated on the Co-WIN vaccine delivery management system in a bulk manner," he said.

The health secretary said that the manufacturers will send the vaccine to the Government Medical Store Department depots at Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Karnal in Haryana by air.

India currently has 29,000 cold chain points where the approved vaccines Covishield and Covaxin can be stored safely.

"Total 71 people have been detected with the new mutant virus found in UK. There is no ban on export of the Covid-19 vaccine," said Director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Balram Bhargava.

India's drugs regulator had on Sunday approved Oxford University's Covid-19 vaccine 'Covishield' being manufactured by the Serum Institute, and the indigenously developed 'Covaxin' manufactured by Bharat Biotech for restricted emergency use in the country, paving the way for a massive inoculation drive.