Ahead Of Saturday Launch, Total Confusion For India's Vaccination Drive

From Saturday, just as the country reels from a brutal explosion of cases, an estimated 500-600 million Indians will become eligible when the drive is opened to all adults.

India's mammoth push to beat its raging Covid surge with vaccinations looks troubled, with its vast inoculation programme plagued by shortages, confusion and political squabbles. From Saturday, just as the country reels from a brutal explosion of cases, an estimated 500-600 million Indians will become eligible when the drive is opened to all adults. Until now, only "frontline" workers like medical staff, people over 45 and those with existing illnesses have been given the AstraZeneca shot or Bharat Biotech's homegrown Covaxin. But even this more modest programme has faltered, with some areas running out of shots and others throwing them away because of a lack of demand, in part due to hesitancy.