India Coronavirus Dispatch: Budget's vaccine outlay can cover 500 mn people

Latest Covid numbers, long-term loss of smell in many, six Mumbai wards reported no death last week--news relevant to India's fight against Covid-19

Budget's Covid vaccine allocation can cover 500 million people

The allocation of Rs 35,000 crore in the Budget announced on Monday towards the country's Covid-19 vaccination programme will cover the cost of inoculating 500 million people, T V Somanathan, expenditure secretary in the finance ministry told the ThePrint. The Centre will allocate more funds towards the vaccination exercise later in the year, if and when necessary. The details for the later stages of the rollout are yet to be decided. While the exact costing and pricing of the doses are yet to be worked out, a rough estimate of Rs 700