A health worker collects a swab sample from a woman at a clinic in Mumbai. File/Reuters

Gulf Today Report

Health Ministry has announced that some COVID-19 vaccines are likely to receive licenses as India has reported 32,080 new coronavirus cases, taking its total to 9.74 million, data from the federal health ministry showed on Wednesday.

India has the world's second-highest caseload, but daily infections have dipped steadily since hitting a peak in September. Of its 9.74 million total cases, around 370,000 are active patients, currently infected with COVID-19.

READ MORE

Biden vows 100m coronavirus vaccinations in first 100 days

UAE approves China's Sinopharm vaccine for coronavirus

In the next few weeks and outlined an initial plan to immunize 300 million people, health officials said on Tuesday.

Daily cases have stayed below the 50,000-mark since Nov.8, despite a busy festival.

Indian Health official added that three vaccine companies have applied for early approval for emergency use. Those are Serum Institute of India, which has been licensed to manufacture the AstraZeneca vaccine, Pfizer Inc., and Indian manufacturer Bharat Biotech.

"Some of them may get licensed in the next few weeks,” federal Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said.

Daily cases have stayed below the 50,000-mark since Nov.8, despite a busy festival season that saw crowded markets and streets.

Deaths rose by 402, the ministry said, with the total now at 141,360.

India's population is nearly 1.4 billion.