The ministry had on Tuesday asked states and Union territories (UTs) to create a district-level action plan to speed up the vaccination of schoolteachers and ensure that all teaching and non-teaching staff employed across schools receive at least the first dose of the vaccine in September.

Several states have already launched special vaccination drives for school staff. As many as 98% of teachers employed at Delhi government schools have received at least one dose, it said. Tamil Nadu last week announced that 90% of their teachers have been vaccinated.

The Centre had last week announced that it will provide at least 20 million additional covid-19 vaccine doses to states and UTs for teaching and non-teaching staff at government and private schools on priority.

Physical classes have to some extent started in many states and UTs such as Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Assam.