‘Urge Centre to allow Covid-19 vaccination at non-hospital facilities’: Kejriwal

Addressing a press briefing, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal thanked the Centre for starting the third phase of the nationwide vaccination drive from April 1, where all citizens above the age of 45 are being inoculated.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday requested the Centre to include non-health facilities like schools, community centres in the vaccination drive and to remove the clause of 45 years and above for inoculation.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal pointed out that if vaccination begins at a mass level at non-hospital facilities, the Covid-19 disease can be brought under control. (ANI file photo)

Addressing a press briefing, Kejriwal thanked the Centre for starting the third phase of the nationwide vaccination drive from April 1, where all citizens aged 45 and above are being inoculated. He said a total of 71,000 beneficiaries in Delhi were given doses on Thursday of which only four people experienced some reactions and got recovered in an hour or two.

“However, we are facing two problems. Firstly, as per the Centre’s guidelines, vaccinations can only be done at hospitals and health facilities. Initially, there were fears that if people experience any side effects or reactions after taking the dose, there had to be a facility where they can be immediately treated. But it has been three months since vaccination started. And it is proven that vaccines are safe,” he said.

The chief minister pointed out that if vaccination begins at a mass level at non-hospital facilities, the Covid-19 disease can be brought under control. Arrangements such as ambulances, first aid etc., can be made available at such facilities, he said.

More than 1.3 million beneficiaries have been vaccinated in the national Capital so far since the drive began on January 16.

At the start of the briefing, Kejriwal said under the fourth wave of the pandemic in Delhi, cases are increasing exponentially but the wave is not as serious as the previous ones as there are very less deaths and lesser admissions in hospitals and intensive care units (ICUs). He announced no lockdown will be imposed as of now.

Friday’s briefing was held after the chief minister chaired an emergency meeting at his residence earlier in the day amid the spike in infections in Delhi. On Thursday, 2,790 had tested positive for Covid-19 while nine more died, taking the caseload and death toll to 665,220 and 11,036 respectively. Thursday’s figures have been the highest in more than three months.