New Delhi: An SOP released by the Health Ministry of India on Saturday states that only 100 people are likely to get vaccinated per "session" against COVID-19, and that the number of people in each of these sessions may go up to 200 if logistics allow.
The states and territories can fix the days for vaccination. "Conduct of the vaccination process will be similar to the election process," the ministry said in the document called 'COVID-19 Vaccines Operational Guidelines'.
"Anticipating that COVID-19 vaccine may soon be available, GoI (Government of India) is preparing for its introduction in the country so that it can be expeditiously rolled out when available. One of the milestones in this direction has been the constitution of a National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC). The NEGVAC guides on all aspects of COVID-19 vaccine introduction in India," the SOP maintains.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccine will be made available free of cost to all people in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Saturday. "No one will be charged for the vaccine. This is the stand of the government," he told reporters at Kannur.
India's COVID-19 tally of cases climbed to 98.26 lakh with 30,006 new cases in a day, while 93,24,328 people have recuperated so far pushing the national recovery rate to 94.88 per cent on Saturday, according to the Union Health ministry data.
The total Coronavirus cases mounted to 98,26,775 and the death toll climbed to 1,42,628 with the virus claiming 442 lives in a span of 24 hours in the country, the data updated at 8 am showed.
The COVID-19 case fatality rate further declined to 1.45 per cent. There are 3,59,819 active cases of Coronavirus infection in the country. The total COVID-19 active caseload has dropped to below 3.6 lakh (3,59,819) and comprises just 3.66 per cent of the total infections, the ministry said on Saturday.