Supply order for Covid vax likely to be placed today

Covishield and Covaxin, the two vaccines accorded emergency use approval, are on the verge of being available in the country, health minister Harsh Vardhan said on Thursday, adding that a mega vaccination drive across all states would be launched soon. Final due diligence and certification formalities for placing bulk purchase orders to procure the vaccine were on and the supply order was likely to be placed by Friday as the first 10 crore doses would be funded through the PM-Cares fund, a senior official said.