Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that the first shot of a coronavirus vaccine could be administered in "any week of January".

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that the first shot of a coronavirus vaccine could be administered in "any week of January". He said that the safety and effectiveness of vaccines would be the first priority and that there won't be any compromise on that parameter.

Harsh Vardhan

After consultation with experts, Vardhan said that the goverment has prioritized 30 crore people for Covid vaccine. It includes health workers, frontline workers like police, military and sanitation staff, people above 50 years and those who are below 50 years but are suffering from certain diseases.

"Our first priority has been the safety and effectiveness of vaccines. We don't want to compromise on that. I personally feel, maybe in any week of January, we can be in a position to give the first Covid vaccine shot to people of India," Harsh Vardhan said.

Covid-19 vaccineHe said that the effort is that everyone in "our priority list takes Covid vaccine". "We will address the issue of vaccine hesitancy. But if anyone decides not to take it, we can't force them," the Union minister said.

Recently, the Union Health Ministry said that getting vaccinated for Covid-19 will be voluntary, and underlined that the vaccine introduced in India will be as effective as any vaccine developed by other countries.