Health Ministry not to procure fresh Covid vaccines; surrenders Rs 4,237 crore from vaccination budget
New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) The government’s Covid vaccination programme is in its final leg with the Health Ministry deciding against procuring more vaccines as of now and surrendering Rs 4,237 crore, or nearly 85 per cent of the 2022-23 budget allocation for inoculation purposes, to the Finance Ministry.
Official sources told PTI that more than 1.8 crore doses are still available with the governments at the Centre and in states and the stock is sufficient to continue the vaccination drive for around six months, given the low uptake of vaccines among people due to declining Covid case burden.
Even if the government’s stock gets exhausted, Covid vaccines will be available in the market.
