On Saturday, India crossed 10 million coronavirus cases, making it the second country to do so. However, infection rates have slowed in the past few weeks, despite eased restrictions and lockdowns.
India hit a peak of almost 98,000 daily cases in mid-September. This month, daily cases have averaged around 30,000.
It has also reported 9.6 million recoveries and 145,136 deaths so far.
India hopes to roll out vaccines soon and is considering emergency-use request for three types, developed by Oxford/AstraZeneca, Pfizer and local company Bharat Biotech. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has identified 300 million people to receive the first doses of the vaccines, expecting to complete the process by August.
At a recent news conference, Indian Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said, “Every single Indian who needs to be vaccinated will be vaccinated.”
