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Today's Paper | March 17, 2026

Published 09 Dec, 2020 09:00am

India says it may approve vaccine in weeks, outlines plan

India's health ministry has announced that some Covid-19 vaccines are likely to receive licenses in the next few weeks and outlined an initial plan to immunise 300 million people, AP reported.

Health officials said that three vaccine companies have applied for early approval for emergency use in India: Serum Institute of India, which has been licensed to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer Inc., and Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech.

Some of them may get licensed in the next few weeks, federal Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

India says its initial immunisation plan revolves around three priority groups: 10 million healthcare workers, 20 million front-line workers such as the police and military, and 270 million other people either above age 50 or who have diseases that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19's effects.

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