A man walks near the Municipal Corporation Building, left, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) during a lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus in Mumbai, India. (Photographer: Dhiraj Singh/Bloomberg)
5 years ago
Apr 17, 2021
India recorded another day of record-high new Covid-19 infections as the country's already crippled healthcare infrastructure grapples with a shortage of hospital beds, critical drugs and oxygen supplies.
Meanwhile, with states flagging off a shortage in vaccine supply, the government announced grants to boost the output of indigenously developed Covaxin. The Centre will offer up to Rs 65 crore to Biotech’s new facility in Bengaluru which is being repurposed to increase production. The government expects the production of Covaxin to reach 10 crore doses per month by September 2021.
The country recently allowed Russia’s Sputnik V to be administered in India in hopes of easing the shortfall. It is also inviting Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and others to seek emergency use approval of their vaccines as early as possible, VK Paul, who heads a panel advising Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the country’s inoculation efforts, said at a press briefing on April 13.
