A member of the rapid response team quoted ICMR‘s study saying that the third wave of COVID-19 in India is likely to come late, giving the authorities 6-8 months to vaccinate everyone. He added that the authorities are targeting at administering 1 crore coronavirus vaccine doses every day. 

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“ICMR has come up with a study that says 3rd wave is likely to come late. We have a window period of 6-8 months to immunise everybody in the country. In the coming days, our target is to administer 1 crore doses every day,” ANI quoted Dr NK Arora, Chairman, COVID working group.

Dr Arora said that there is a possibility that by July-August, children of the 12-18 age group would be allowed to get vaccinated. 

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“The trial for the Zydus Cadila vaccine is almost complete. By July end or in August, we might be able to start administering this vaccine to children of 12-18 age group,” Dr Arora added.

On Saturday, a study by scientists from the Indian Council Of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Imperial College London, UK revealed that the third wave of COVID-19 in India is unlikely to be as devastating as the second wave. 

India recorded 50,040 new cases of COVID-19 and 1,258 deaths on Saturday. The country’s COVID-19 tally, as of Sunday morning, stood at 30,233,183 ‬while the death toll from the pandemic has surpassed 395,751.