Health Ministry to stop procuring fresh COVID-19 vaccines, surrenders Rs 4,237 crore from vaccination budget

The Government of India's COVID-19 vaccination programme is in its final leg with the Health Ministry deciding against procuring more vaccines as of now and surrendering Rs 4,237 crore, or nearly 85 percent of the 2022-23 budget allocation for inoculation purposes, to the Finance Ministry.

According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, 219.32 crore doses of the coronavirus vaccine have been administered to beneficiaries across the country so far. The COVID-19 vaccination drive kicked off on January 16 last year.

With 2,401 fresh cases, India's COVID-19 tally now stands at 4,46,28,828; the number of active coronavirus cases in the country has gone up to 26,625, the Union Health Ministry said on October 16. The death toll due to the viral disease has risen to 5,28,895 with 21 more fatalities, including 16 reconciled by Kerala, according to the ministry's data updated at 8 am. The active cases account for 0.06 percent of the total caseload, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate has gone up to 98.76 percent, the ministry said.

An increase of seven cases was recorded in the active COVID-19 caseload in a span of 24 hours, it added. The daily positivity rate was recorded at 1.04 percent. The weekly positivity rate was recorded at 1.05 percent, according to the ministry.