New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Saturday said that free Covid- 19 vaccines will be given in the first phase to three crore people who have been on the frontline in the fight against the highly contagious disease. The Government will give priority to 1 crore healthcare workers and 2 crore frontline workers when India begins the rollout of Covid- 19 vaccine.

In 1st phase of #COVID19Vaccination free #vaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritised beneficiaries that incl 1 crore healthcare & 2 crore frontline workers
Details of how further 27 cr priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalised pic.twitter.com/K7NrzGrgk3

— Dr Harsh Vardhan (@drharshvardhan) January 2, 2021

The Union Health Minister Harsha Vardhan in a tweet said that, “In 1st phase of #COVID19Vaccination, #freevaccine shall be provided across the nation to most prioritized beneficiaries that includes 1 crore healthcare & 2 crore frontline workers. Details of how further 27 cr priority beneficiaries are to be vaccinated until July are being finalized”.

Speaking to the media persons he told that “The DCGI will soon take a decision on the recommendation,” as he reviewed the vaccine dry run at a Delhi hospital. He also assured about the safety of the vaccine.  “There should be no rumours about the vaccine’s safety. Everything has been checked in detail. Initially when the polio vaccine was rolled out, even then rumours had floated. But once it went on the floor, all people were assured about the safety,” he said.

All states are holding a dry run on Saturday, so that possible gaps can be revealed in the system ahead of the actual vaccination drive. Earlier this week, a two-day dry run was held in Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Gujarat.