Government on Saturday drastically reduced its estimation of the number of Covid-19 vaccine doses that are projected to be available in India by December 31, 2021. The Centre told the Supreme Court that 135 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines are projected to be available for use between August and December. On May 13, the Union Health Ministry in a presentation stated that over 216 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be available between August and December, 2021 to vaccinate all adults by year-end. The difference between the two projected figures is a staggering 81 crore doses.
The government said that ‘51.6 crore doses will be made available for administration by July 31, 2021 leaving a requirement of approximately 135 crore vaccine doses for complete vaccination to the eligible population’.