Centre Junks Reports About Missing Half-Billion Vaccine Target By July 31

New Delhi: the govt today dismissed media reports that claimed that India will miss the end-July target of administering 50 crore Covid vaccine doses as “ill-informed and misrepresenting” and asserted that over 51.60 crore vaccine doses are going to be supplied from January to July 31.
The Health Ministry issued a press release pertaining to recent media reports alleging that the country will miss the target of administering half-a-billion (50 crore) doses of the COVID-19 vaccine by July-end, while remarking that the govt had stated in May that it might make 516 million (51.60 crore) vaccine shots available by the top of this month.

“These reports are ill-informed and have clearly misrepresented the facts,” the statement said.

“The figures of 516 million vaccine doses may need been picked up from various sources which informed about the likely availability of the vaccine doses from January to July-end,” it added.

“The facts are that a complete of quite 516 million (over half-billion) vaccine doses will indeed be supplied from January 2021 to 31st July, 2021,” the ministry said.

It added that the vaccine doses are supplied to the states in accordance with the advance allocation plan and that they are informed about it beforehand . The vaccines are supplied to the states in various schedules throughout the month.

“Therefore, availability of 516 million doses till end of a specific month doesn’t mean that each dose supplied till that month goes to be consumed/administered.

“There would be supplies in pipeline, which should be available for next few days till subsequent supplies of vaccine doses materialise during a particular state/district/sub-district to stay vaccination happening ,” the statement said.

A total of 45.7 crore doses are supplied to the states and Union territories from January till date and a further 6.03 crore doses are expected to be supplied by July 31. this may amount to a complete of 51.73 crore doses supplied from January to July 31, it added.

“It should be appreciated that India has crossed the landmark of 440 million (44.19 crore) doses administered, which is that the largest number achieved within the world and has been done at quite brisk pace too. Out of those , 9.6 crore are cases where both the doses are administered,” the statement said.

A total of 11.97 crore Covid vaccine doses were administered in June. For the month of July (as on July 26), a complete of 10.62 crore doses are administered.

It is the endeavour of the govt to supply vaccination to the eligible citizens within the shortest possible time consistent with the supply of the vaccines, the statement said.