'Phase III vaccination drive for people above 50 yrs likely next month'

Kolkata: Union Health minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said the vaccination process for the phase III is likely to begin across the country next month, when people above the age of 50 will be vaccinated.

He was addressing a special health care conclave in a city club on Saturday. The Union Health minister stated that the country has already supplied COVID vaccines to 15 countries. The Centre has also received requests from 22 other countries seeking vaccines.

When asked about the technical glitches developed by the CoWIN app created by the Centre to track the inoculation drive, the minister said the country has been conducting a massive vaccination drive under which 3 crore front line workers are being administered with the vaccines. "Technical glitch getting developed in small scale is nothing unusual for the app as it is catering to a huge number of people at the same time," he added.

The minister also pointed out that two vaccines have already been given clearances, while two others are on the final stages of clearance. Research is being conducted on 7 more vaccines.