Now, COVID vaccine for all above 45 years of age

The Centre has opened up the COVID vaccination programme for people above the age of 45, starting April 1, said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday afternoon (March 23).

Surging cases in several states and fear of a new wave of COVID pandemic may have prompted the government decision, experts say. “I appeal to every citizen who is 45 or above to register for vaccination. The decision has been taken by the Union cabinet on the advice of the Coronavirus Task Force and experts,” Javadekar said.

Currently, only those above the age of 60 and those over 45 with comorbidities are allowed to get the vaccination.

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Javadekar informed that 4.85 crore people have got at least one dose of the COVID vaccine and 80 lakh have got the second dose. “There are enough vaccines available and there should not be any concern on this,” he said.

The Union government launched the nationwide vaccination drive on January 16, giving priority to health and frontline workers in phase 1. On March 1, the Union Cabinet gave consent to vaccinate people above the age of 60 and those in the group of 45 to 59 years with other illnesses like diabetes, hypertension etc.

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The country has seen a sudden rise in COVID-19 cases of late with 40,715 cases recorded in the last 24 hours. India’s infection tally stands at 1,16,86,796 with 1,60,166 deaths so far. A total of 199 people died of the infection in the last 24 hours, said the Union Health ministry. The number of people who have recovered is 1,11,81,253, while the case fatality rate has further dropped to 1.37 percent.