Over 82.57 cr Covid vaccine doses given to states, UTs so far: Govt

More than 82.57 crore Covid vaccine doses have been provided to states and union territories so far and over 94 lakh doses are in the pipeline, the Union Health Ministry said on Saturday.

Over 4.15 crore balance and unutilized vaccine doses are still available with the states and the union territories for inoculation, it said.

The Union government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of Covid vaccination throughout the country, the ministry said in a statement.

''More than 82.57 crores (82,57,88,115) vaccine doses have been provided to states/UTs so far through the government of India (free of cost channel) and direct state procurement category. Further, more than 94 lakh doses (94,37,525) are in the pipeline,'' it said.

The inoculation drive has been ramped up through the availability of more vaccines, advanced visibility of vaccine availability to states and union territories for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain, it added.

As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, the Centre has been supporting the states and union territories by providing them Covid vaccines free of cost, the statement said.

Under the universalization of the Covid vaccination drive, the central government procures and supplies free of cost 75 percent of the vaccines being produced by vaccine manufacturers in the country to states and union territories.