India, with an estimated population of 1.36 billion, will complete administering 516 million Covid-19 vaccine doses by the end of July, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said. Till now, 180 doses have been administered to eligible beneficiaries, and vaccine production is being ramped up to meet the surge in demand, he added.

Harsh Vardhan chaired a meeting with the health ministers and principal secretaries/additional chief secretaries of Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh where he highlighted the challenges posed by Covid-19 to states.

Production of vaccines is being steadily ramped up to cater to increased demand while vaccines that are being produced now continue to be equitably apportioned and swiftly sent to States/Union Territories, he said. 

"We will have 51.6 crore vaccine doses by the end of July including the 18 crore doses already administered. Sputnik has been approved. This along with the slated approval of the new vaccine of Zydus Cadila, Serum Institute of India- Novavax vaccine, Bharat Biotech's nasal vaccine and the Genova mRNA vaccine will push the availability of COVID vaccines to 216 crore doses in the August-December period,” he was quoted as saying by IBNS.

Covid cases in Uttar Pradesh - India's most populous state with over 200 million people - jumped exponentially in a span of six weeks (5,500 to 31,000 cases and two per cent to 14 per cent positivity rate) with Lucknow and Meerut accounting for over 14,000 active cases with all bed categories, showing occupancy of more than 90 per cent.

In Madhya Pradesh, the country's largest state, 10 districts have shown 20 per cent positivity and there are one lakh active cases in the state. Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Jabalpur were flagged as districts of concern, the minister said.

Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat, having a high proportion of deaths in the age group of 18 to 45, were cautioned.

Vardhan also said that the current flattening of the Covid curve does not allow complacency but as a breather to use it to expand, revamp and improve health infrastructure.

State health administrators were asked to increase the number of oxygen beds, conduct oxygen audits, monitor stock of medicines and strengthen medical workforce.

Infrastructure in small towns require continuous improvement and capability to support the patients from nearby towns and villages as they are likely to rush there in case of surge.