Dr. Harsh Vardhan takes second dose of COVID-19 vaccine
Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan and his wife took the second COVID-19 vaccine shot at the Delhi Heart and Lung Institute on Tuesday. His wife Nutan Goel first took the jab of COVAXIN after which Dr. Vardhan also took the jab. Dr. Vardhan and his wife had taken their first shot on March 2 and did not face any difficulties after getting inoculated.
Dr. Vardhan has appealed to people to get vaccinated
Dr. Vardhan has been appealing to everyone aged 60 and above and aged 45 and above having specified co-morbidities to immediately take the vaccine. He had asked people not to keep any doubts about the vaccine underlining both COVAXIN and Covishield are safe and immunogenic.
Everyone aged over 45 can be vaccinated from April 1
The nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive will be opened to all persons above the age of 45 from April 1, 2021, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar had announced last week. Javadekar said, "After taking recommendations from scientists, it was decided that all people above the age of 45 will be allowed to get the vaccine after April 1." He urged all those eligible to get vaccinated.
India started the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16
India commenced the first phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 by vaccinating the healthcare workers followed by the frontline workers. The second phase of the vaccination drive began on March 1, with those over 60 years and within the age bracket of 45 to 59 years with specified co-morbidities getting vaccinated.
COVAXIN, Covishield being used in the drive
In India, two vaccines are being used in the COVID-19 vaccination drive after emergency approval from Drugs Controller of India. One is Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield manufactured by the Pune-based Serum Institute of India, and the other is indigenously produced COVAXIN manufactured by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech.
More than 6.11 crore individuals have been vaccinated so far
According to the Health Ministry's data, more than 6.11 crore individuals have been vaccinated so far of which 81,74,916 healthcare workers (HCWs) received the first vaccine shot, and 51,88,747 HCWs received the second vaccine shot. Also, 89,44,742 frontline workers have received the first shot and 7,11,221 have received the second COVID-19 shot, so far. On March 29, 5,82,919 vaccine doses were given.
Over 56,000 fresh infections reported on Monday
Around 68,72,483 beneficiaries aged 45 to 60 years with specific co-morbidities have received the first dose and 405 the second dose. In the category of beneficiaries aged more than 60 years, 2,82,19,257 have got the first dose and 1,583 the second dose. Meanwhile, 56,211 fresh coronavirus infections and 271 deaths were reported on Monday. The death toll now stands at 1,62,114.
