India says it has millions of Covid vaccines, denies shortage

NEW DELHI:

India’s health minister said on Thursday the country had more than 43 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in stock or in the pipeline, after many states complained of having to close inoculation centres due to a lack of supplies.

“Let’s put an end to fear mongering now!” Harsh Vardhan said on Twitter. “Where does question of shortages arise? We’re continuously monitoring & enhancing supply.”

India has so far administered more than 90 million doses.

India’s overall caseload reached 12.9 million, the third-most affected globally, behind the United States and Brazil.

Since February, India has continuously reported a record rise in coronavirus infections, becoming only the second country after the United States to register more than 100,000 new cases in a day, as hospitals in its worst affected state are overrun by patients.

Read: Indian states seek widening of vaccinations as second surge overtakes first wave

The country's daily infections have leapt about 12 fold since hitting a multi-month low in early February, when authorities eased most restrictions and people largely stopped wearing masks and following social distancing. More infectious variants of the virus may have also played a role in the second surge, some epidemiologists say.

India's previous daily high in cases was 97,894, hit in mid-September and after which infections had come down sharply, only to rise again starting late February as the economy reopened fully and new virus mutants spread.