The first batches of the Covishield COVID-19 vaccine are now being distributed in India as the country takes on the mammoth task of vaccinating the 1.3 billion people across the country.

Footage from January 12 shows the cargo containing the vaccine being handled at southern India's Rajiv Gandhi International Airport near Hyderabad in Telangana.

A SpiceJet cargo Flight SG7466 carrying the vaccine landed at the airport at 11:30 am.

The shipment contained 31 boxes that had nearly 40,000 doses for the region.

The first phase of the vaccine drive will commence on January 16 with frontline workers getting the jab, at the expense of the state.

The first batch of the COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, reached the airport in southern India's Telangana on January 12. The shipment was received at the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport, located in Shamshabad, near the state capital, Hyderabad.

A video witnessing the incident features several boxes carrying the vaccine being loaded on an airplane. The vaccines, packed securely in white boxes, get scanned at the airport while the authorities involved in the shipment remain stationed nearby.

A SpiceJet cargo Flight SG7466 carrying the vaccine landed at the airport at 11:30 in the morning. The shipment contained 31 boxes that had nearly 3,72,000 doses for Telangana. However, the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive will start from January 16, and the Central government will bear the expenses of COVID-19 vaccination for frontline workers in the initial stage.