With various states experiencing a second wave of increase in Covid-19 cases, the Union Cabinet decided on Tuesday to further open vaccination, making all people over the age of 45 eligible for a vaccine as of April 1.
On Tuesday, the Center also made changes to the Co-WIN platform and communicated to the states that unlike before, when the second dose of the vaccine would be scheduled for Day 29, beneficiaries will have the discretion to choose the date of the second dose within the extended interval of 4-8 weeks.
While the third phase of vaccination, for those over 45, will have the largest age cohort to be eligible for phased administration of the vaccine so far, leading sources told The Indian Express that the government will target a targeting strategy subgroups among those over 45, such as teachers, the business sector, the government sector, etc., in an attempt to curb the over-broadcast events that trigger the surge.
“We don’t have any estimate (of the number of beneficiaries between 45 and 60). Once you have this kind of guess, we will have artificial numbers floating around. Our goal is for all people over 45 to get vaccinated, ”said a source.
“The good thing about this is that a significant part of the population in this age group is, in a sense, a captive target. So if we vaccinate all teachers aged 45 and over, or all employees in the corporate sector, and all government employees, then the super spreaders stop to that extent, “added the source.
Following the cabinet decision, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan wrote to states that self-registration for those over 45 will open on the Co-WIN website from April 1. “Special attention should be paid to the optimal utilization of Covid-19 capacity. vaccination centers while minimizing vaccine waste, ”wrote Bhushan.
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said the decision to further open the vaccination program for the general population was made on the basis of advice from the National Covid-19 Working Group.
On March 1, the Center had opened the vaccination campaign for the general population, starting with those over 60 years of age and those over 45 with specific comorbidities.
“Based on the scientific evidence and advice provided by the Covid-19 working group, the decision has been made that as of April, anyone over the age of 45 can be vaccinated even if the beneficiary does not have co-morbidity. . We hope everyone will register and book an appointment, ”said Javadekar.
Dr VK Paul, who chairs India’s Covid-19 task force, told The Indian Express that the next phase of vaccination will be the “most intense” and with that, the entire high-risk population will be vaccinated. .
“Epidemiologically, it covers a large part of the population with the highest risk of adverse outcomes in Covid-19. The decision also shows the government’s confidence in the delivery system to deliver the vaccine on such a scale. It shows that our systems are working well, cold chains are fluid, SoPs are in place, the public-private partnership is strong, and the IT Co-WIN platform is strong. With today’s decision, we will move on to the most intense phase of the vaccination program, for which we have sufficient supplies of vaccines ”.
Sources said the Center, while stressing there was “no shortage of the vaccine,” has directed states to review vaccine availability at all points in the cold chain statewide.
“That’s because in some states, some districts are doing well and some are not,” said a source. “For example, in Maharashtra, you may run out of vaccines in Pune, while there might be enough stocks in Amravati, Dhule and Yavatmal. If no one is reviewing this, you cannot move the vaccine within the state. That must be done. “
Tuesday’s decision to expand the vaccination program comes even as cumulative doses of vaccine administered in India exceeded 5 million rupees. On Tuesday 15,80,568 doses were administered until 7 pm.
The decision also comes in the context of six states: Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu, which report an increase in new cases daily. According to the Ministry of Health, the six states together contributed 80.90 percent of the new cases (40,715) reported in the last 24 hours.
On Tuesday, the Ministry said the number of cases in India with variants of the virus in the UK, South Africa and Brazil was 795.
Paul said opening vaccination to more people will be a key public health strategy to break the chain of transmission, including the UK variant.
“To the best of our knowledge and belief, we can say that both vaccines work against the UK variant. We must embrace the vaccine and protect the vulnerable. This helps to break the chain of transmission. At the same time, other measures, containment and surveillance, must be followed intensively, ”said Paul.
In the first phase of the vaccination exercise, the vaccine was administered to healthcare and front-line workers. As of March 1, vaccination was opened to the general population, the beneficiaries being those over 60 years of age and those over 45 with comorbidities.
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