India Centralizes COVID-19 Vaccinations

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on June 7, 2021, the central government would soon offer free COVID-19 vaccines to all adults.

“Whether it is the poor, the lower middle class, the middle class, or the upper-middle class, under the federal government program, everyone will get free vaccines (beginning June 21st),” Modi said on national television.

Under earlier policies, the federal government gave free vaccines to the elderly and front-line workers. Reports indicate India has administered over 223 million vaccinations, representing about 5% of the country’s population.

India has been inoculating its people with the CoviShield and Covaxin vaccines and intends to offer the Sputnik V vaccine in late June'21.

India’s revised National COVID Vaccination Program guidelines are found at this link.