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All adults in India can get vaccines starting May 1, but the shots may not be widely accessible.
India s government allows vaccine manufacturers to charge fees at private hospitals.
The cost could amount to $10 to $32 per vaccine well above India s average daily income.
The Indian government announced last week that all adults will be eligible to receive coronavirus vaccines starting May 1. But there s a catch: The shots won t be free everywhere.
Healthcare workers, frontline workers, and Indians older than 45 can already get their shots through government vaccination centers at no cost. But under the nation s plan, the rest of India s adult population could be charged a fee at those same locations. Most Indian states have promised to waive costs for all adults at the sites, but that s not the case at private hospitals, which will continue to charge for vaccines. India s government has also given vaccine ma
It s a reminder not to scale back on testing or social distancing before vaccinations are over.
Just two months ago, India s
coronavirus outbreak seemed to have turned the corner. Cases had plummeted to their lowest point since the beginning of the pandemic and vaccines were starting to be rolled out across the country.
But Bramer Mukherjee, an epidemiology professor at the University of Michigan, wasn t convinced the progress would last. By mid-February, she spotted an uptick in cases amid an increase in weddings, family gatherings, festivals, and sporting events.
She called up her 81-year-old father and 79-year-other mother, who live in Calcutta, to see if they were getting vaccinated soon.
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Hospitals are running low on oxygen and bodies are piling up at crematoriums.
It s a reminder not to scale back on testing or social distancing before vaccinations are over.
Just two months ago, India s coronavirus outbreak seemed to have turned the corner. Cases had plummeted to their lowest point since the beginning of the pandemic and vaccines were starting to be rolled out across the country.
But Bramer Mukherjee, an epidemiology professor at the University of Michigan, wasn t convinced the progress would last. By mid-February, she spotted an uptick in cases amid an increase in weddings, family gatherings, festivals, and sporting events.