Review covid immunisation plan, vaccinate all age groups in select areas: Capt to Modi

Punjab CM suggested to PM Modi that any area where weekly testing shows a doubling of positivity rates should immediately be considered for vaccination of all age groups

Chandigarh Punjab chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday urged the Centre to review its immunisation strategy to allow vaccinate all age groups in select areas. He also pressed for a stricter policy to deal with the problem.

Large positivity was seen in the state’s young population, Amarinder told the virtual meeting. (Twitter)

In a meeting of chief ministers that Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired, Amarinder also called for occupation-based immunisation for school and college students and teachers, judges, bus drivers and conductors, panches/sarpanches, mayors/municipal committee presidents, councillors, MLAS, MPs etc to pave the way for normalisation of crucial economic activities and checking super-spreaders.

He advocated early opening of courts, and also of schools and colleges to bridge the gap between poor and affluent families in terms of education.

‘More strictness to follow’

The CM blamed the surge in cases on fatigue and or laxity in following covid appropriate behaviours, large social and religious gatherings, and efforts at restoring normalcy such as opening of schools and colleges.

Large positivity was seen in the state’s young population, he said, adding that the trend was worrying as the state had reported 1,475 cases and 38 deaths on Monday, preceded by 1,843 cases and 43 deaths the day before. He pointed out that the state’s finance minister Manpreet Badal and SAD president Sukhbir Badal had also tested positive. “We are making a policy, we will get stricter from tomorrow,” he added.

Amarinder suggested to PM Modi that any area where weekly testing shows a doubling of positivity rates should immediately be considered for vaccination of all age groups.

This, he said, would lead to better outcomes than the periodic cycles of vaccination targeting a small section of the population at each cycle. The daily positivity rate has climbed to more than 5% in March from a low of less than 1% in January. A shade under 2 lakh positive cases had been reported from 54 lakh tests and 6,099 people have died, he said.

Apart from covering the entire population in selected areas, certain co-morbidity situations among those below 45 years, such as kidney and liver diseases, should also be covered across the state, the CM recommended, as Punjab continued to grapple with its second peak, which started from mid-February 2021.

“As over 50% positive cases are below 40 in age, and we need to urgently assess whether this is due to any variant,” he also informed the PM. The state, he disclosed, had sent a large number of samples for genome sequencing but very few results had been received, of which two indicated the presence of a variant.

Amarinder reiterated the demand for permission by the Centre to use the State Disaster Relief Fund, already available with the state, for covid management. The Union home ministry may issue approval urgently, he emphasised.