Bengaluru: The much-awaited COVID-19 vaccine will be available very soon, said Health and Medical Education Minister Dr. K. Sudhakar.

Speaking to media here yesterday, he said that the vaccination dry run has helped to train the staff and the vaccine would be available very soon for mass inoculation. Regular meetings have been conducted with hospitals to prepare for the vaccination drive. All Corona Warriors would be administered vaccine in the first phase free of cost. Centre would issue detailed guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for vaccination. All necessary infrastructure like cold storage, logistics, manpower are being arranged. “We will use the existing infrastructure and Centre will augment the additional infrastructure,” he added.

Dr. Sudhakar said that 10 UK returnees in the State have been detected with new strain of virus. “All of them were being treated and isolated in Government Hospitals. The infection was not severe in any of them,” he added.