Government data shows that disparity in India's Covid-19 immunisation drive has narrowed as pregnant women are now allowed to get their shots and authorities try to dispel rumours about fertility, Reuters reports.

Women have received about 47 per cent of the 481 million vaccine doses administered in India, nearly in line with the gender ratio in the country, the data showed. Men have now received 13pc more doses than women, compared with about 17pc in early June.

India officially started vaccinating pregnant women only in July and has been running ground-level campaigns to encourage them to get their shots, according to the government. It has also sent teams of grassroots health workers to towns and villages to dispel fears that vaccines affect fertility.