New Delhi: The government on Friday informed Parliament that a total of Rs 9,725 crore has been spent so far on the COVID-19 vaccination programme, including the operational cost for procurement of vaccines and vaccination. It has also been said that there is no delay in procurement of vaccine and the target is to deliver 135 crore doses between August and December, Junior Health Minister Bharti Praveen Pawar said in response to a question by Rahul Gandhi and TMC’s Mala Roy.
Pawar said, “Between August 2021 to December 2021, a total of 135 crore doses of the Kovid-19 vaccine are expected to be available. There has been no delay in entering into purchase agreements with domestic vaccine manufacturers. Manufacturers have also been paid in advance for their orders.”
Stating that there is no fixed time limit to complete the vaccination drive, the minister said that it is expected that by December all the beneficiaries of the age of 18 years and above would be vaccinated. “Given the dynamic and evolving nature of the COVID pandemic, it is expected that the beneficiaries aged 18 years and above will be vaccinated by December 2021,” Pawar said.
According to the Health Ministry, more than 439 crore vaccine doses have been supplied to the states and union territories so far and 71.4 lakh more doses are in the pipeline. A total of 42.7 lakh doses have been given across the country on Friday.