Coronavirus Vaccine: India seeks up to 500m doses by July

India hopes to receive up to 500 million doses of coronavirus vaccine  by July to inoculate about 250 million people, health minister Harsh  Vardhan said yesterday, as infections in the world's second-worst  affected country continue to surge.

India's has recorded some 6.55  million infections, with 75,829 in the past 24 hours, while  Covid-19-related deaths have totalled 101,782, health ministry data  showed.

"There is a high-level expert body going into all aspects  of vaccines," Vardhan wrote on Twitter. "Our rough estimate and the  target would be to receive and utilise 400 to 500 million doses covering  (200 million-250 million) people by July 2021."

India has set up committees to look into various  aspects of the vaccine supply chain, including availability timelines  for various vaccines, while obtaining commitments from manufacturers to  ensure the maximum doses are available, Vardhan said.

To prioritise  the distribution of coronavirus vaccines, the health ministry aims to  prepare a list of key personnel, such as frontline health workers, by  the end of the month.