Coronavirus in India News Live: Govt signs deal with Biological-E for 300 mn doses of Covid vaccine; India logs 134,154 new cases

On Wednesday, India crossed the landmark milestone of administering 22 crore cumulative vaccine doses. However, the pace of vaccination remains a worry with several vaccination centres across the country closing doors due to the Covid-19 vaccine shortage. 

Covid-19 Cases and Deaths Count, Lockdown, Unlocking in India Today June 3 Live: The Covid-19 situation in India has improved over the past few days. The country has been reporting below 2 lakh new coronavirus cases daily for the past seven days, compared to over 4 lakh new Covid-19 cases during the April end. The positivity rate has also been falling and deaths too. Some states (Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir) have also started the process of unlocking as the Covid-19 situation improves in their states.

On Wednesday, India crossed the landmark milestone of administering 22 crore cumulative vaccine doses. However, the pace of vaccination, the main weapon in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic, remains a worry with several vaccination centres across the country closing doors due to vaccine shortage. The pace of vaccination in the country dropped 34% in April and May due to a supply crunch, according to an analysis. India needs to expedite the pace of vaccination by sixfold to achieve the year-and target of vaccinating all eligible population against Coronavirus. Global vaccine tenders by states/UTs got a lukewarm response from bidders, with some vaccine manufacturers preferring to deal with the central government only for the Covid-19 vaccine.

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik yesterday wrote to CMs of all other states on centralized vaccine procurement by the central government. Kerala CM Vijayan and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal are among other who also urged Centre to procure vaccine for all. “The central government should not only procure vaccine but also distribute it to states for free, said Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the Government’s policy of giving free vaccines to some people while asking others to pay. The apex court also asked the Centre to provide the vaccine roadmap.

As several states in India weighing options for Covid unlocking amid vaccine supply crunch, catch all the live updates on Coronavirus from India and the world here: