国际英语新闻:All Indian adults to be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination from May 1

NEW DELHI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- All persons aged 18 years and above will be eligible to get COVID-19 vaccination with effect from May 1, India's federal government said on Monday.

This would be the phase 3 of India's COVID-19 vaccination drive. Phase-I was launched on Jan. 16 prioritizing Health Care Workers (HCWs) and Front-Line Workers (FLWs), while Phase-II was initiated from March 1 focusing on all people above 45 years of age.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi said that the federal government had been working hard to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time.

With an increase of 273,810 new cases on Monday, India's COVID-19 tally has reached 15,061,919, according to data from the health ministry.