Scores died over the weekend in hospitals hit by shortages that have forced clinics in the capital New Delhi to send urgent appeals for help on social media.
Guedes said a nationwide mass vaccination program against the virus must be accelerated to ensure people can return to work safely, especially the working classes and lower income earners.
"These aren't jokes. Unemployment is rising, wages are falling, basic goods are becoming more expensive by magnitudes," President Vladimir Putin said during a cabinet meeting last week.