India has seen an increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks
Reflexes
- Citizens aged 45 and over register for vaccination: Prakash Javadekar
- Decision taken on the advice of the Covid Working Group, said Mr. Javadekar.
- The vaccination campaign began in January of this year.
New Delhi:
People who are 45 and older can get vaccinated starting April 1, the government said today, ramping up the vaccination campaign nationwide at a time when Covid cases have risen in many states. “I call on all citizens aged 45 and over to register for vaccination,” Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said, announcing the cabinet’s decision to extend the campaign that began in January.
Currently, only citizens over 60 and those over 45 with other diseases can be vaccinated. A meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to vastly expand its scope to cover a much more population. Those over the age of 45 can start registering for vaccination starting April 1.
“This decision has been made by the cabinet on the basis of advice from the Coronavirus Task Force and experts,” said Mr. Javadekar.
He stated that there was no shortage of vaccines and that more were on the way.
According to the minister, 4.85 million people have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine and 80 lakh have received the second dose.
In the center’s letter to states yesterday to increase the gap between two doses of Covishield from the Serum Institute of India, developed by Oxford-Astrazeneca, Mr Javadekar said doctors would prescribe the right time for the second dose.
“The second dose has to be between four and eight weeks. Doctors will decide when it is better to take the second dose,” said the Union minister.
India has seen an increase in coronavirus cases in recent weeks, with the daily increase staying above 30,000 since March 18. The number of cases with the Covid virus variants in the UK, South Africa and Brazil across the country is 795.
Although new coronavirus infections are down 13 percent to 40,715 today, the number of active cases has seen an increase for the thirteenth day in a row, according to the Union Health Ministry.
The vaccines were implemented with two vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin from Bharat Biotech, on January 16 with healthcare workers. Frontline workers were declared eligible for the Feb. 2 shots onward.
Javadekar was asked about the call by Punjab’s chief minister Amarinder Singh to the center to expand the reach of vaccines to the very young, given the increase in cases of the UK variant in his state.
The Union minister said he was “not a health expert and did not know the nuances of the UK variant.”
Punjab has reported that 81 percent of its new cases are of the UK variant, an extremely virulent strain that primarily affects younger people. UK authorities have found the Covishield vaccine to be effective against it, Amarinder Singh said.
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