The Centre on Tuesday announced everyone above 45 will be eligible for Covid-19 vaccination from April 1. Here is all you need to know about the announcement:
• It comes amid requests from experts as well as several states to allow more people to take shots as the country is grappling with a sharp resurgence in cases.
• India recorded 47,239 cases on Tuesday, the highest since November 8.
• The government’s Co-Win dashboard showed that as of 7pm on Tuesday, a little over 41.5 million people have received their first doses.
• Less than 8 million have gotten both their doses.
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• The country targets inoculating 300 million people by the end of July.
• In the 67 days since the campaign was launched, close to 50 million doses have been administered.
• But the recipients have been limited to those who are at higher risk due to their age (60 and above), pre-existing health conditions (as long as they are 45 and older) or their profession (if they work as health workers or as frontline service staff).
• From April 1, people above 45 will not need to present medical certificates showing that they suffer from any of the predetermined medical conditions.
{{/usCountry}}• From April 1, people above 45 will not need to present medical certificates showing that they suffer from any of the predetermined medical conditions.
{{/usCountry}}• The registration process for this category will begin on April 1
• According to an analysis of Covid-19 infection and mortality trends in India, 62% of all infections have been among people below 45.
• But people above this age account for almost 9 in 10 (87%) deaths, making targeting this age band more crucial for inoculation.