The central government is launching its ambitious prorgamme to provide free Covid-19 vaccine to all the citizens above the age of 18 from Monday, a move that is expected to help in scaling up daily vaccination numbers.
Earlier this month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Centre will take over the existing Covid-19 vaccination drive, which was partly being carried out by the states since May 1.
The Centre's new policy came days after the Supreme Court slammed the ongoing Covid-19 vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group and called it "arbitrary and irrational."
The aim of the government is to vaccinate all adults in the country against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) by the end of this year.
All you need to know about free Covid-19 vaccination:
- All citizens above the age of 18 can avail free vaccination at any government facility.
- The Centre will buy 75% of the total vaccine production from vaccine manufacturers and give it to the state governments free of cost. No state government will have to spend anything on the vaccine.
- All vaccination centres, government and private, would provide onsite registration facilities. Registration on Co-Win app is not mandatory.
- The states may avail the facilities of Common Service Centres and Call Centres to help citizens book slots for vaccination.
- The price of Covid-19 vaccine doses for private hospitals would be declared by each vaccine manufacturer and any changes would be notified in advance.