The Centre has opened the ongoing vaccination drive to everyone above the age of 18 years starting from May 1. It has also given state governments a free hand to procure vaccines directly from the manufacturers.
States are exploring ways to ramp up vaccination so that maximum population can be inoculated against COVID-19 in minimum time.
In wake of the announcement, Maharashtra will import vaccines from other countries and funds will be diverted from all the departments to carry out an extensive inoculation drive on the lines of the UK.
The state is worst-affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the country with more than 50,000 cases being reported daily in the last two weeks.
Welcoming the Union government's decision to vaccinate the entire adult population of the country, Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said the state cabinet on Tuesday decided to carry out an "exemplary vaccination drive". "If required, we will cut the funds of all the other departments to ensure availability of vaccines for people," he said after a cabinet meeting.
Uttar Pradesh will now offer the COVID vaccine free of cost from May 1, as India's vaccine net widens to include all people over the age of 18.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who last week tested positive for the virus, tweeted: "In the cabinet meeting it has been decided that corona virus vaccination of all the people above 18 years of age in Uttar Pradesh will be made free... Coronavirus will lose, India will win."
The health department has been tasked with working out the logistics of this exercise in the most populous state in the country.
"We have to increase vaccination centres and create a database of the target age-group," the chief minister said in a statement.
On the lines of UP's decision, the Assam government has also announced free vaccination to all.
BJP national general secretary B L Santhosh said that state government of Assam will vaccinate the population above 18 years free of cost.
In a significant decision to check the surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, the government announced that everyone above the age of 18 will be eligible to take a vaccine from May 1 and decided to make pricing, procurement, eligibility, and administration of vaccines open and flexible.
The decision on a liberalised and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of COVID-19 vaccination was taken at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.