NOT JUST IN DELHI, COVID-19 VACCINE WILL BE FREE ACROSS COUNTRY: HEALTH MINISTER

NEW DELHI: Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that COVID-19 vaccine will be provided free of cost across the country. The minister made the statement while talking to media after reviewing the dry run of administering the COVID-19 vaccine at Maternity & Child Welfare (MCW) Centre in Daryaganj. Asked if COVID-19 vaccine will be provided free of cost, like in Delhi, Vardhan replied that “not just in Delhi, it will be free across the country.” Vardhan also reviewed the dry run of administering the COVID-19 vaccine at Guru Teg Bahadur (GTB) hospital in Delhi today. In Delhi, the drive is being conducted at three locations—the Daryaganj primary health centre, the government-run

Guru Teg Bahadur hospital and the private Venkateshwara hospital, he added. Except for giving actual vaccine, every procedure is being followed during the drill, Vardhan further said. The dry run will be conducted by all the states and Union Territories from Saturday. Vaccination drill is being conducted in all states/uts today in 116 districts across 259 sites. According to the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW), the objective of the dry run for COVID-19 vaccine introduction is to “assess operational feasibility in the use of COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (CO-WIN) application in a field environment, to test the linkages between planning and implementation and to identify the challenges and guide the way forward prior to actual implementation”.