Chandigarh: From March 1, the Punjab government will start the registration process for beneficiaries to be given Covid-19 vaccine in the third phase of the ongoing drive. People above 60 years of age and those aged between 45 years to 60 having co-morbidities will be covered in the next phase of vaccination.
Punjab health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said all citizens that are aged, or will attain the age of 45 years to 59 years as on January 1, 2022, and have any of the specified co-morbidities — which have been recommended by the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for Covid-19 (NEGVAC) and approved by the Government of India from time to time — can get vaccinated subject to certification to that effect by a registered medical practitioner.
Sidhu added that to simplify the process of registration vaccination, the central government is coming with COWIN 2.0, based on the feedback received during the implementation of Phase-1 of Covid-19 vaccination drive. He said that citizens will be able to register and book an appointment for vaccination using the COWIN 2.0 portal or through other IT applications such as ArogyaSetu.
He said that this new portal would prove helpful to expedite the vaccination drive especially to be conducted for aged people.
Sidhu said that as per the World Health Organisation, Covid-19 vaccination is the single way out to deal with pandemic so eligible beneficiaries have to take maximum benefit of this golden opportunity. He said vaccination would be done free of charge at the government health facilities, and on a payment basis in the private health facilities at a rate decided by the Government of India.
6k get first dose
As many as 6,000 members of the priority groups — health workers (1,149) and frontline workers (4,851) — received their first dose of the Covid vaccine in the ongoing vaccination drive. A total of 3,608 health workers received their second dose of the vaccine. So far, the overall count of vaccination stands at 1,54,066.
1. Total vaccinations so far in the state | 1,54,066
2. No. of 2nd dose given | 36,252
3. No. of healthcare workers given 1st dose | 88,499
4. No. of frontline workers given 1st dose | 65,567