India opens vaccination to all adults amid surge

A woman flashes victory sign as she gets inoculated with a dose of Covishield vaccine against the Covid-19 coronavirus at a vaccination centre in Mumbai on May 1, 2021, during the first day of India's vaccination drive to all adults. (AFP)

• India has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight
• States and the federal government will be in charge of immunizing 900 million Indian adults

NEW DELHI: Days after reporting record numbers of positive coronavirus cases, India opened vaccinations to all adults in hopes of taming a monstrous spike in COVID-19 infections. On Sunday, the country reported its highest single-day death toll.
The world’s largest maker of vaccines is still short of critical supplies — the result of lagging manufacturing and raw material shortages. Those factors delayed the rollout in several states.
Only a fraction of India’s population likely can afford the prices charged by private hospitals for the shot. That means states and the federal government will be in charge of immunizing 900 million Indian adults.
India has reported more than 300,000 daily cases for more than 10 days straight, leaving hospitals, morgues and crematoriums overwhelmed and its tally crossing more than 19.1 million.