Mamata Banerjee announces free Covid-19 vaccine for every citizen in West Bengal

“I am happy to announce that our government is making arrangements to facilitate the administration of the Covid-19 vaccine to all the people of the state without any cost,” Banerjee said in a statement released on Sunday.

She said that the state government will make arrangements to vaccinate all health workers, home guards, civic volunteers and disaster management staff.

Several states including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh have announced free vaccines for their citizens once the rollout process starts. 

India to start vaccination from Jan 16:

India is set to commence its Covid-19 vaccination drive on Jan 16, the central government announced in a statement on Saturday.

In its first phase, priority will be given to about 3 crore frontline workers, followed by around 27 crore people above the age of 50 and others with co-morbidities.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hailed this as a “landmark step” in India’s fight against the virus.

"On 16th January, India takes a landmark step forward in fighting COVID-19. Starting that day, India’s nation-wide vaccination drive begins. Priority will be given to our brave doctors, healthcare workers, frontline workers including Safai Karamcharis," PM Modi tweeted.

India's Covid-19 cases' update:

Meanwhile, India on Sunday recorded 18,645 cases of coronavirus during the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 1,04,50,284.

A total of 201 deaths were reported during this period, taking the fatality toll to 1,50,999.

So far, 1,00,75,950 people have recovered from the deadly virus, leaving 2,23,335 active cases.