COVID-19 vaccine's second dose to be administered from February 13
The second dose of the anti-coronavirus vaccine will be administered to healthcare workers from February 13, the Centre said on Thursday, highlighting that 45 percent of them have been inoculated so far. Addressing a press briefing, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 45,93,427 beneficiaries had already been vaccinated against COVID-19 till 1:30 pm on Thursday.
Only first dose administered since drive began: Dr. VK Paul
"45 percent of targeted healthcare workers have been vaccinated so far and by tomorrow almost half of them would be inoculated," NITI Aayog member (Health) Dr. VK Paul said. "Only the first dose has been given since the drive began on January 16," Paul said.
Thirteen states and UTs inoculated more than 50 percent workers
The states and union territories that covered more than 50 percent of healthcare workers in the first phase are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Tripura, Mizoram, Lakshadweep, Odisha, Kerala, Haryana, Bihar, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh. One's with 30 percent or less are Sikkim, Ladakh, Tamil Nadu, Jammu and Kashmir, Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, and Puducherry.
We plan on increasing the involvement of private sector: Bhushan
Two vaccines, Covishield manufactured by Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech's COVAXIN, have been approved by the Drugs regulator for restricted emergency use in India. In the COVID-19 immunization drive, 5,912 public healthcare centers and 1,239 private facilities are being used as vaccination session sites. "As we proceed, we would be involving the private healthcare sector to a much larger extent," Bhushan said.
Vaccination of those above 50 years of age soon: Bhushan
Asked when these vaccines will be available for the general public and senior citizens, Bhushan said, "Very soon. We have started vaccinating frontline workers from February 3. Once this wave stabilizes, we will come to 50 years plus population."
Aware of apprehensions around expiry of COVID-19 vaccine: Dr. Paul
The private health sector is an integral part of India's healthcare system and their participation has been active, steady, and highly satisfactory. Dr. Paul also spoke about the apprehensions prevailing about the expiry of the vaccines. "Not a single dose will be wasted because we could not administer it before the expiry. We are well aware of which batches are expiring when," he said.
Kerala and Maharashtra currently have most active cases
The Health Secretary said two states, Kerala and Maharashtra, with 69,365 and 38,762 active cases respectively, are presently contributing more than 70 percent of cases in the country. While Kerala accounts for 44.8 percent of cases, Maharashtra's share is 25 percent of the active cases.
