COVID-19 vaccine rollout in India: First flight carrying Covishield reaches Delhi
India is all set to begin the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, starting January 16. The country granted emergency approval to two vaccines — Covishield by Serum Institute of India and Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech.
"Today Air India, Spicejet, Go Air India, and IndiGo will operate 9 flights from Pune with 56.5 lakh doses to Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Shillong, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Vijayawada, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Bengaluru, Lucknow, and Chandigarh," the Union Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in a tweet.
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"Civil aviation sector launches yet another momentous mission. Vaccine movement starts. First two flights operated by Spicejet and Go Air India from Pune to Delhi and Chennai have taken off," he added.
Meanwhile, the first consignment of COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' arrived at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport from Pune.
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"Temperature-controlled facility, ranging from -20 degrees Celsius to +25 degrees Celsius, at our two Cargo terminals can efficiently and safely handle Covid-19 vaccines. Both terminals can handle around 5.7 mn vials in a day," DIAL CEO on the arrival of Covid vaccine consignment.
Likewise, 5.56 lakh vaccine doses have been dispatched from Pune.
On Monday, the central government ordered 11 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine Covishield from the Serum Institute of India. The cost of the vaccine to the government would be Rs 200 per vaccine dose for the first 100 million doses, the drugmaker stated.
-PTC News
