Covid-19 vaccine roll-out in India likely next year: Bill Gates

Philanthropist Bill Gates has said that it is very likely that the roll-out of Covid-19 vaccine will happen in India sometime next year.

"I'm quite optimistic that by first quarter of next year, several of Covid-19 vaccines will reach final stage," Gates told PTI.

"All of us want to get a vaccine out in India as fast as we can, once we know that it's very effective and very safe," Gates said.

"India is a leading vaccine producer; we need cooperation from India on manufacturing Covid-19 vaccine," said the co-chair of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

India's total coronavirus tally crossed the 49 lakh-mark today with 83,809 new cases, reports our New Delhi correspondent quoting health ministry data.

The death toll in the country rose to 80,776 with 1,054 more people succumbing to the infection. The case fatality rate stands at 1.64 per cent, according to the data.