From January, vaccination for 15-18, boosters for elderly, healthcare staff: PM Modi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that “precaution doses” (boosters) of Covid vaccines for health and frontline workers as well as for those above 60 with comorbidities will begin from January 10. The Prime Minister also said vaccination for children aged 15-18, using Covaxin, will begin from January 3.
These announcement were made by the PM Modi in an Address to the Nation at 9.45pm on Saturday. The drug regulator has authorised Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin for children above 12 years of age. Covaxin is the second vaccine, after Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D, to get the regulatory nod for restricted use among children. However, the vaccination programme will currently cover children above 15 only.
My address to the nation. https://t.co/dBQKvHXPtv
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 25, 2021
The PM also assured that nasal vaccine and the world’s first DNA vaccine will be available for vaccination soon in the country.
The Prime Minister said that the move to provide vaccination to children in the 15-18 age group is likely to aid in education normalization in schools and will reduce the worry of the parents with school-going children.
The decision regarding precaution dose for frontline and health workers has been done in light of the amount of time that they spend in the service of Covid-19 patients.”The decision of precaution dose will strengthen the confidence of healthcare and frontline workers,” Modi said.
Referring to the Omicron infections in India, PM Modi said, “Coronavirus has not gone anywhere. Indian scientists have kept a close watch on Omicron.” The Prime Minister also urged people not to panic and be alert.
“We are in the last week of 2021. 2022 is set to arrive. We need to be cautious during the festive period. Infections are rising across several nations due to a new variant of Covid Omicron. In India, there have been a few cases as well. I would urge all of you not to panic, be careful and alert,” PM Modi said.
The Prime Minister said that today more than 141 crore doses have been administered in India and more than 90 per cent eligible population has been vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine while over 61 per cent of the adult population is vaccinated with a double dose.
“Today, the nation has 18 lakh isolation beds, 5 lakh oxygen supported beds, 1.4 lakh ICU beds and 90,000 special beds for kids. Today, we have over 3,000 functional PSA Oxygen plants and 4 lakh cylinders have been provided to all states,” said PM Modi.
“Those with comorbidities and above 60 years of age on the recommendation of their doctors will be eligible for precaution doses from January 10, 2022, onwards,” said PM Modi.