Coronavirus in India: Out of control?
The "accelerated phase 3 strategy" for vaccinations now makes anyone aged above 18 years eligible for a shot. People can register via an app starting Wednesday.
Previously, eligibility had been limited to Indians older than 45, as well as health care and front-line workers.
The
Times of India reported that officials in many states are concerned that they will not have enough doses to get the new vaccination drive started.
The health minister said the government was doing all it could to remove restrictions on supplying vaccines to individual states and territories.
"While the dreaded disease is spreading like a tsunami, it was critical to ease the controls and allow a free hand to the state governments as well as the private sector. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we decided to ease the vaccination policy norms," Vardhan said in a blog post shared by the Health Ministry.