From April 1, all people above 45 years of age are entitled to get COVID-19 vaccine, Union Minster Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday.
Briefing reporters on the decisions taken by the Union Cabinet, he said even people without comorbidity and above the age of 45 years, can get vaccinated.
He requested people entitled to get themselves registered to take the COVID19 shot.
“We have enough vaccines. All eligible people should get registered as it is a shield against COVID-19. We appeal all above 45 should get vaccinated,” Javadekar said while addressing a press conference.
The Union Cabinet’s decision to allow people above 45 years of age to get vaccinated comes days after Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi held a meeting with several chief ministers over the rising cases of coronavirus in the country.
When asked to comment on the UK coronavirus variant cases found in Punjab, Javadekar said, “I am not a health expert, but can say this virus erupts in several variants. More cases are expected. States which are noticing more case, we are in constant touch with them.”
As per the advice by scientists and world scientist bodies, the second dose can be administered between the fourth and eight week, particularly for Covishield.
India has approved Covaxin developed by Bharat Biotech and Covishield from the Oxford-AstraZeneca and Serum Institute of India (SII).
The union health ministry said that 4,84,94,594 corona vaccine doses have been administered through 7,84,612 sessions, as per the provisional report till 7 am today.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers getting inoculated and vaccination of the frontline workers started from February 2.
The next phase of COVID-19 vaccination commenced on March 1 for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.
(Disclaimer: Additional background information has been added to this PTI copy for context)
