Moscow. March 1. INTERFAX.RU – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi received the first dose of the local COVAXIN coronavirus vaccine on Monday.
“Delivered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. (…) I appeal to all those eligible to vaccinate. Let's make India COVID-19 free together!” – wrote Modi on his Twitter, accompanying the message with a photo of him being vaccinated.
On Monday, India launched the second wave of vaccination, during which people who are 45 or more years old and who suffer from certain diseases have the right to be vaccinated.
Medical workers were the first to be vaccinated – more than 12 million people. Most of them reportedly preferred vaccination with AstraZeneca over the topical COVAXIN vaccine.
“This is all due to the initial discussion that COVAXIN was only an experimental vaccine and did not pass through the third stages of trials,” said Subhash Salunkhe, Advisor to the Maharashtra State Government for Vaccination Strategy.
Vaccine developer Bharat Biotech said it will soon release data on trials among 26,000 volunteers.
According to Johns Hopkins University, India has the second highest number of cases of COVID-19. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 11 110 152 cases of infection have been registered here, more than 157 thousand people have died, more than 10 million have recovered.
