All persons above 45 years of age are entitled to get covid-19 vaccine irrespective of any comorbid condition starting April 1, Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Tuesday.
The development holds significance for India in controlling the swelling burden of covid-19 pandemic wherein a second wave of infections is looming large. “The Cabinet discussed the issue and the government decided that everyone over the age of 45 including those who don’t have co-morbidity will be eligible for vaccination. India has plenty of vaccines, so there is no worry of shortage," union minister Prakash Javadekar said while addressing the cabinet briefing adding that the decision will do well to millions of people.
For implementation of the decision across the country, Rajesh Bhushan, Union health secretary on Tuesday wrote a letter to states stating that based on the recommendation of National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for covid-19 (NEGVAC) government of India has now decided to expand the prioritized age group to include all persons aged 45 years and above for covid-l9 vaccination from 1st April 2021. The cut-off date for the 45+ years category is those persons born before 1st January 1977.
"Accordingly, there will now be no need for a comorbidity certificate for people aged 45 years to 59 years, from 1't April 2021. The CoWIN software is also being suitably modified for doing away with the need for confirmation of comorbidities at the time of online registration and on-site registration or for uploading the comorbidity certificate at the time of vaccination. The registration on Co-Win would begin from 1't April 2021," said Bhushan in the letter.
According to the 2011 census, about 18.3% of the population is over 45 years of age. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan in January said that India will administer covid-19 vaccines to 300 million people. The government aimed to cover over 30 million healthcare workers and frontline workers initially present in the country. In the second phase, the aim is to cover 270 million people which is the third group -- those above the age of 50 years and those below 50 who have co-morbidities like diabetes, hypertension and other chronic conditions.
The countrywide vaccination drive was rolled out on 16th Jan 2021 with vaccination of healthcare workers (HCWs) and vaccination of the frontline workers (FLWs) started from 2nd Feb 2021.The next phase of covid-19 vaccination commenced from 1st March 2021 for those who are over 60 years of age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. Requests from across sectors were flowing to include younger age groups amidst concerns of mutant strains and low uptake of vaccines. With 81% of the latest 401 samples sent by the state for genome sequencing turning up positive for the new UK Covid variant, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday appealed to the people to get themselves vaccinated. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to widen the vaccination ambit to cover those younger than 60 since this mutant has been found to be infecting young people more.
“Data from some of other countries hints that in second wave more number of cases are seen in the younger age group. Including people over 45 years is a positive step towards decreasing severe cases needing hospitalization. This would mean ramping up number of vaccination sessions held per day and number of vaccination centres. If we are able to vaccinate 5 million lakhs persons per day, we should be able to vaccinate around 250 million in 2-3 months’ time," said Lalit Kant, a scientist and former head of epidemiology and communicable diseases at the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
“Out of this some would been vaccinated already when the campaign for more than 60 years and those above 50 years with commodities is being done. Drawing confidence from the number of children were immunized during polio campaigns, this appears to be doable," he said.
The cumulative covid-19 vaccine doses administered in India inched closer to 50 million on Tuesday with a record 32,53,095 vaccinations in the last 24 hours. Assumed to be ebbing few months ago, the covid-19 pandemic continues to evolve in India. India’s total Active Caseload is rising after touching its lowest mark in mid-February. It stands at 3.45 lakh (3,45,377) as on Tuesday.
A net incline of 10,731 cases recorded from the total active caseload in the last 24 hours. Three states, Maharashtra, Kerala and Punjab, account for 75.15% of total active cases in the country. Maharashtra alone accounts for 62.71% of the total active cases in the country. The Doubling Time has decreased from 504.4 on 1st March, 2021 to 202.3 on 23rd March, 2021. 199 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours.
Six States- Maharashtra, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu- are reporting a surge in daily new cases. They together account for 80.90% of the new cases (40,715) reported in last 24 hours. Maharashtra continues to report the highest daily new cases at 24,645 (60.53%). It is followed by Punjab with 2,299 while Gujarat reported 1,640 new cases, the union health ministry data shows. Six States account for 80.4% of the daily deaths. Maharashtra and Punjab each reported 58 casualties. Kerala and Chhattisgarh follow with 12 deaths each.
Apart from vaccinating its own people, external supplies of Made-in-India covid-19 vaccines started starting 20 January 2021. Supplies have been undertaken in the form of “Grants-in-aid", commercial sales by the manufacturers and through GAVI’s COVAX facility. Led by the WHO, jointly with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Gavi, a Covax initiative is aimed at equitable access to covid-19 vaccines globally. GAVI’s COVAX facility has more than 190 members including India. More than 7.47 crore vaccine doses have been supplied to Stats/UTs within the country so far.
Prashant Nanda contributed to this story
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