THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that the Covid vaccine will be available in the state this month itself. Health workers will the first to receive the vaccine. The CM said that all health workers should be prepared to receive the vaccine.

The expert panel that met today had recommended that the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine 'Covishield' to be approved in the country with conditions. The Covishield vaccine is manufactured by the Serum Institute in India. Earlier, the committee had asked the Serum Institute to submit documents of clinical trials conducted in the UK. The committee evaluated the documents submitted by the Serum Institute on Friday. It is learned that after this, permission was recommended.

In addition to the Covishield vaccine, Covaxin, which is being developed locally in India, is likely to be approved. The final decision is to be made by the Drugs Controller on the recommendation of the Committee. Meanwhile, Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that all the steps have been taken for the dry run to be held tomorrow. The vaccine trial will be conducted in 25 people in three places in Kerala and other states.