PremiumWith the third phase of the Covid-19 inoculation drive scheduled to begin on Saturday, the West Bengal government has said that people in the 18-44 age group will be administered the vaccine when the state receives doses.
The Mamata Banerjee-led government said that vaccination of those above 45 years will continue.
Meanwhile, the CEO of a private hospital in Kolkata said they have been informed by the manufacturers that vaccines will only reach them by June.
"This time vaccine supply will not be (given) by the government. We have been asked to write to manufacturers directly and we have written to Bharat Biotech and SII," Dr Rupali Basu, the MD and CEO of Woodlands Hospital, was quoted as saying by ANI.
"They have written to us that they will not be able to supply us vaccines till June. So we still do not have the vaccines with us. We are ready with vaccination centres and the moment the vaccines comes to us, we will able to vaccinate," she added.
Basu said that she hopes to start the vaccination drive by 5 May for people above 18 years of age.
"In Bengal, 1 May is a holiday, 2 May is our election result, 3 and 4 May are also not vaccination days. Our vaccination starts on 5 May. So, I have four more days," she said.
The surge in coronavirus infection is continuing in West Bengal as the state reported 17,411 new cases, 96 deaths on Friday. It now has 1,13,624 active cases.
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Premium Premium In view of the spiking Covid-19 cases, the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education decided to cancel the annual examination of class 11, students to be promoted to class 12 on Friday.
The state government also imposed new Covid-19 restrictions in West Bengal. Under the new guideline, shopping complexes, malls, beauty parlours, cinema halls, restaurants and bars, gyms and sports complexes will remain closed till further order.
However, the government said bazaars and haats will remain open but only during 7-10 am and 3-5 pm.
With inputs from agencies.
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