NT NETWORK

Panaji

Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said the state government has set the deadline of July 30 to complete first dose vaccination of all people above 18 years of age.

Addressing the people of Goa through virtual mode, Sawant announced that the government will start on July 13 Tika Utsav 3.0 (a vaccination drive) for the 18-44 age group.

“People will not have to register themselves in advance. It will be a walk-in vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group people,” he explained.

Sawant said that there will be 87 vaccination centres across Goa, including the established 35 centres, for the Tika Utsav. The government will provide 250 doses per day to each centre.

Camps will be held in the jurisdiction of all gram panchayats and municipalities.

“I urge the people not to crowd the vaccination centres. Schedules for each panchayat and municipality will be released by the government,” he added.

Till date, 70 per cent of people belonging to 45 and above age group have received the first dose of the vaccine, while and 30 per cent of people belonging to the abovementioned category are yet to be inoculated, Sawant maintained.

It is pertinent to note here that the state has notified categories of people in the 18-44 age group for the prioritisation in vaccination.

As per notification issued by the public health department, priority groups are: lactating mothers, seafarers, autorickshaw drivers, motorcycle pilots, parents of children of two years or less, persons in the age group of 18 to 44 with co-morbidities, parents of children of up to five years (with effect from June 14), parents of children of up to 10 years (with effect from June 5) and parents of children of up to 15 years (with effect from June 16).

Administration of the first dose has also been prioritised for those belonging to the 18 to 44 age group and who seek to travel abroad for employment, education, or sports events.