COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker: Over 12 lakh people in India get jabbed on May 2, more than 15.7 crore shots administered so far

Everyone above 18 years of age is now eligible to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in India. (Representative image)

As many as 12.1 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered in India on May 2, according to the Union Health Ministry's latest provisional report.

With that, more than 15.7 crore COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered across the country so far. On May 2, 8.4 lakh beneficiaries received their first shot and 3.6 lakh people were given their second dose. This included healthcare and frontline workers, people aged over 60 and beneficiaries above the age of 45 with or without comorbidities.

The government had earlier revised the gap between the two doses for the Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield, being manufactured by the Serum Institute of India, to six-eight weeks. However, the interval for the second dose of Bharat Biotech's Covaxin remains unchanged.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the nationwide vaccination drive on January 16, with healthcare workers at the frontline of India's COVID-19 battle getting their first jabs.

The country began the second phase of the vaccination drive from March 1 in which everyone above 60 years of age and those over 45 years with comorbidities could start getting the vaccine.

From April 1, vaccination was opened for everyone above the age of 45 with or without comorbidities.

The country rolled out the third phase of its COVID-19 vaccination drive for those in the 18-45 age group on May 1. The central government has liberalised the vaccination drive to allow states, private hospitals and industrial establishments to procure the doses directly from manufacturers.

Registration on CoWIN platform for the third phase began on April 28.

Here are key developments related to the COVID-19 vaccination process:

> More than 78 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and union territories, which will receive over 56 lakh additional doses within the next 3 days, the Union Health Ministry said on May 2. The Government of India has so far provided nearly 16.54 crore vaccine doses (16,54,93,410) to states and UTs free of cost. Of this, the total consumption including wastages is 15,76,32,631 doses.

> The prices announced by COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers for state governments and private hospitals are "exorbitant" and the Centre should cap costs to make vaccines more affordable, an RSS-affiliate said on the day referring to the pricing of Covishield and Covaxin shots. The Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) also demanded that more companies should be allowed to manufacture the vaccines to ensure "availability and affordability".

> On instruction of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Bihar government on the day decided to give status of frontline workers to the journalists who will get COVID vaccination on a priority basis. All the journalists accredited with the Information and Public Relations Department at the state level and also non-accredited scribes authenticated by the district public relation officers, from print, electronic and web media, will be considered as frontline workers for inoculation, an official statement said.

> Vaccination centres will remain functional during the weeklong lockdown in Haryana from May 3 imposed amid a sharp surge in coronavirus cases. Vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group began in the state on May 2.

> Vaccination of the people above 45 years will not be conducted in Mumbai on May 3 due to shortage of vaccines, the city civic body said. Vaccination for the people in the age group of 18 to 44 years will continue at five centres in the megapolis, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said in a statement.

(With inputs from PTI)