Health ministry officials say plan to bring it under nation’s Universal Immunisation Programme stays shelved, mainly due to reasons related to funds and concern around side-effects.
A working group set up under National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization has been tasked with carrying out risk-benefit and cost analyses of introducing the vaccine.
Voluntary vaccination in India has largely been limited to affluent sections of society , but doctors say attitudes are changing as people have seen difference Covid vaccines can make.
A universal vaccination programme requires mobilisation at an unprecedented scale. A battle-weary govt system will be under tremendous pressure to do it alone.
The collusion between the new class of bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and trade union bosses perpetuates itself partly because of the short-run benefits and partly because they see no way out of the system, wrote author MH Mody in 1980.
IAF is firming up plans to revamp airlift capabilities with medium transport aircraft that will be assembled in India & serve as its main workhorse. Embraer is leading contender as of now.
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