Supreme Court judges and their kin to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots today

 A day after India started the second phase of vaccination with Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking his first dose of COVAXIN at AIIMS in New Delhi, all the former and current Supreme Court judges and their kin are most likely to receive COVID-19 vaccine shots on Tuesday.  

Phase 2 of the vaccination drive begins

On March 1, the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccination program started at over 10,000 designated government facilities and 20,000 private hospitals and vaccination centers on Monday. While the first phase of the Coronavirus vaccination drive focused on healthcare and frontline workers, the second phase is dedicated to those above 60 years of age and those above 45 years with co-morbidities. The Union Ministry announced that the pricing for a COVID-19 vaccine dose has been capped at Rs 250 at private hospitals. Meanwhile, like the first phase, doses will be available free of cost at government centers with the Centre bearing the cost of the inoculation.

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On January 3, the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) granted permission for its restricted use in an emergency situation. Covaxin is one of the two Covid-19 vaccines approved for emergency use in India, the second is Serum Institute of India's Covishield. The interim results of the clinical trials indicated that the Indian COVID-19 vaccines would be effective against the mutated virus strains reported from the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Brazil said the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). Bharat Biotech has signed an agreement with Brazil for the supply of 20 million doses of the Covaxin vaccine. US-based biopharmaceutical firm Ocugen Inc has also sealed an agreement with Bharat Biotech to co-develop, supply, and commercialize Covaxin for the United States' market.

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