India celebrates one billion COVID vaccine doses with song, film
Al JazeeraHealth minister to launch a song and film at Mughal-era Red Fort in New Delhi to mark the milestone. India has administered one billion COVID-19 vaccine doses, an important milestone after a slow start, even as a recent drop in inoculations worries the government and healthcare providers. Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya will launch a song and an audio-visual film at the Mughal-era Red Fort in New Delhi on Thursday to “celebrate the landmark milestone”, his ministry said. A “sizeable number of people in India have not taken their second dose by the due date despite adequate supplies,” the health ministry said on Tuesday, as new infections fell to their lowest since early March. Media reports last week said an expert panel of India’s drug regulator recommended the use of the homegrown Covaxin – one of seven COVID-19 vaccines approved in India – for under-18s.