Indian health workers brave rivers in vaccine drive

Aided by locals and carrying boxes of COVID vaccinations, Indian health workers crossed the Ans River gushing from the mighty Pir Panjal ranges on their way to vaccinate far-flung villages of the country's northern Jammu and Kashmir territory.

Following a raging wave of coronavirus infections, daily cases in India had eased, with data from the health ministry on Tuesday (June 8) showing 86,498 infections in the last 24 hours, the lowest in 66 days.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in an address to the nation on Monday (June 7) that the federal government would bear the cost of vaccinating all adults from June 21. His previous policy of getting individual states to pay for immunisations for those aged under 45 years was widely criticized.