India signed its first order for an unapproved Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday, a day after criticism from the Supreme Court over its bungled vaccine rollout that has left millions of people vulnerable after almost 338,000 deaths.

So far, only 4.7% of the 950 million adult population have been given two vaccine doses. The world's second most populous country is reeling from a widespread second wave of infections that killed around 170,000 people in April and May alone.