New Delhi: In a major relief for the entire Indian population, the Centre announced Monday that people above 18 years of age will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccination May 1 onwards. The decision was taken during a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with leading doctors from across India and with top pharma companies on the prevailing COVID-19 situation. Narendra Modi said that the government has been tirelessly working for over a year to ensure that maximum numbers of Indians are able to get the vaccine in the shortest possible of time. So the third phase of vaccination will also make a large number of people eligible to receive the jab.
In a statement the Centre said that everyone above the age of 18 to be eligible to get vaccine against COVID-19. It said that the vaccine manufacturers have been asked scale up their production, as well as attract new national and international players. It informed that vaccine manufacturers have been empowered to release up to 50 per cent of their supply to state governments and in the open market at a pre-declared price.
States have been empowered to procure additional vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers, as well as open up vaccination to any category of people above the age of 18 for the same.
Vaccination drive to continue as before, providing free vaccination for essential and priority populations as defined earlier i.e. HCWs, FLWs and population above 45 years.
“India is vaccinating people at world record pace and we will continue this with even greater momentum,” Modi said in the statement.
During his virtual interaction with India’s leading doctors on the pandemic situation and vaccination progress, Modi also noted that COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in tier-2 and tier-3 cities this time. He asked the doctors to connect with their colleagues working there and give them online consultations to ensure that all protocols are followed correctly.
Modi urged doctors to educate people against ‘rumours’ on COVID-19 treatment and prevention. He said it is very important in these difficult times to not become a victim of panic. For this, Modi said, along with proper treatment, emphasis must also be on counselling of patients admitted in hospitals. He also encouraged doctors to use tele-medicine for the treatment of other diseases, in case there is no emergency.
