COVID vaccination of citizens aged 45 and above begins today

A traffic cop holds a sign reading ‘wear mask and protect your family’ during an awareness campaign in Hyderabad on Wednesday. Pic/AFP

As India prepares to open up its COVID-19 vaccination drive to people above 45 from April 1, the Centre on Wednesday asked states and union territories to identify low vaccine-coverage pockets, particularly in districts reporting a surge in new infections, and take corrective action.

National Health Authority (NHA) CEO and Empowered Group on COVID Vaccination chairperson Dr R S Sharma and Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan chaired a high-level meeting with health secretaries, mission directors of NHM and immunisation officers of all states and UTs during the day, a statement said.

The states and UTs were also advised to ensure that there was no sedimentation of vaccine stocks at any level of storage, and that their distribution was based on consumption to avoid overstocking or under-stocking at cold chain points and CVCs.

The Centre also advised the states and UTs to maintain vaccine wastage at less than one per cent (current National Wastage Percentage being six per cent). As many as 53,480 fresh infections and 354 new deaths, the highest single-day spike so far this year, were recorded in the span of 24 hours, according to Union health ministry data updated on Wednesday morning.

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1,21,49,335
Total number of cases in the country as of Sunday

1,62,468
Total no. of deaths due to the virus in India

1,14,34,301
Patients recovered and discharged in india as of sunday

6,30,54,353
(Total no. of people vaccinated so far)

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