Indian health minister says COVID-19 vaccine to be free across India

NEW DELHI -- Indian Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said on Saturday that COVID-19 vaccines would be free of cost across the country.

"Not just in Delhi, it (vaccine) will be free across the country," Vardhan told reporters.

The health minister was asked if COVID-19 vaccine will be provided free on the lines of Delhi.

Vardhan was at a hospital in Delhi to review the dry run of vaccination that was started Saturday morning across the country.

The minister appealed to people not to be misguided by rumours regarding the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.

"I want to appeal to people not to believe in any rumours. Our prime criteria in the vaccine trial is safety and efficacy and nothing will be compromised," he said.

"Different kinds of rumours were also spread during polio immunisation, but people took the vaccine and now India is polio-free."

The federal government is looking forward to initiating inoculation from this month, once the vaccine is cleared by the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI).

India plans to inoculate 300 million people in the next six to eight months.