When will Covid 19 vaccine become available in the market? AIIMS Director shares expected timeline

Covid-19 vaccines are likely to be available by the “year-end or before that” in the open markets, Director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Delhi Dr. Randeep Guleria said today (February 17, 2021). While Covid vaccination is going on across the country, there have been questions over the timeline for the availability of a vaccine against Coronavirus in the open market. Explaining the probable time frame when people can buy a vaccine in the open market, Dr. Guleria said that the Covid-19 vaccine will be available in the open market only when the prime targets – people to be vaccinated – are covered and there’s an equivalence of supply-demand, ANI reported.

“Vaccine will be available in the open market only when prime targets-people to be vaccinated-are covered and there’s the equivalence of supply-demand. Hopefully, there would be such a situation by year-end or before that. Then there would be a likelihood of vaccine to come to the open market,” Dr. Guleria was quoted as saying by ANI.

Till 8:00 AM today, around 90 lakh healthcare and frontline workers have been inoculated with the Covid-19 vaccine in the country. As many as 89,99,230 vaccine doses have been given to beneficiaries through 1,91,373 sessions. These include 61,50,922 Healthcare workers (HCWs) (1st dose), 2,76,377 HCWs (2nd dose), and 25,71,931 frontline workers (FLWs) (1st dose), the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said in a statement.

The second dose of COVID19 vaccination started on February 13, 2021, for those beneficiaries who have completed 28 days after receipt of the first dose, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

As of February 16, a total of 36 cases of hospitalization and 29 cases of deaths were reported from people who have been vaccinated. Out of the 36 cases of hospitalization, 22 were discharged after treatment. Two are still under treatment and 12 cases died. Out of the 29 deaths, 17 deaths are outside the hospital whereas 12 deaths are in the hospital, the Union Health Ministry said.