Keypoints:
- Currently, only the citizens above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses are allowed to get vaccination.
- Citizens who are 45 or above register for vaccination: Prakash Javadekar
- Decision taken on the advice of the Covid Task Force, Mr Javadekar said.
On Tuesday, the government said that people who are 45 and older can get themselves vaccinated beginning from April 1. This move is being taken to ramp up the Covid 19 vaccination drive since the cases have surged in many places.
Announcing the cabinet decision to expand the vaccination drive that started in January, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said that, “I appeal to every citizen who is 45 or above to register for vaccination.”
Currently, only the citizens who are above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses are allowed to get vaccination. In a meeting which was chaired by PM Narendra Modi, it decided to vastly widen its reach to cover much more of the population. The ones who are at the age of 45 and above can start registering for vaccination from April 1.
“This decision has been taken by cabinet on the basis of the advice of the coronavirus Task Force and experts,” said Mr Javadekar. He also added that there was no shortage of vaccines and more were on the way.
“The second dose has to be between four to eight weeks. Doctors will decide when it is best to take the second shot,” the Union Minister said.
When Mr. Javadekar was asked about Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh’s appeal to the centre to widen the scope of vaccinations to younger people, given the spike in cases of the UK variant in his state, Javadekar said that he was “not a health expert and did not know the nuances of the UK variant”.
