A total 440 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine will be made available to the country from August this year, including 250 milion doses of Covishield and 190 million doses of crore doses of Covaxin, to achieve universalization of vaccination, India's Health Ministry said Tuesday. These doses will be made available from August to December this year.

The announcement came a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a new vaccination policy amid reports of countrywide vaccine shortage, forcing many states to shut several vaccination centres.

Last week, the government booked 300 million doses of Hyderabad-based Biological-E's Covid vaccine, which is undergoing clinical trials.

The new policy takes back the responsibility of vaccination purchase from the states, requiring the central government to spend around Rs 50,000 crore.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the funds are available for the purpose.(SAM)