Covid vaccines for those above 60, over 45 with co-morbidities from March 1

2nd phase Covid vaccination to begin March 1, many private hospitals to take part, says Union minister Prakash Javadekar in post-Cabinet briefing

From March 1, people above 60 years of age and those above 45 years of age with co-morbidities will be vaccinated at 10,000 government and over 20,000 private vaccination centres, announced goverment on Wednesday The vaccine will be given free of cost at government centres, said Union Minister Prakash Javadekar.

Announcing the next phase of India's vaccination drive, Javadekar said a proposal to this effect was approved at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. People who wish to get vaccination at private hospitals will have to bear the cost themselves

"While the vaccine will be given for free at government centres, it will be available for a charge, to be decided later, at many private hospitals," the minister said at a post-Cabinet media briefing in Delhi. 

Till February 24 morning, the vaccination coverage was 1,21,65,598 through 2,54,356 sessions, according to a provisional report.

These include 64,98,300 healthcare workers (1st dose), 13,98,400 healthcare workers (2nd dose) and 42,68,898 frontline workers (1st dose).

The 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccination started on February 13 for those beneficiaries who have completed 28 days after receipt of the 1st dose. Vaccination of frontline workers (FLWs) started on February 2.

On Day 39 (February 23) of the vaccination drive, 4,20,046 vaccine doses were given. Out of which, 2,79,823 beneficiaries were vaccinated across 9,479 sessions for first dose and 1,40,223 received second dose.

Out of total 1,21,65,598 vaccine doses, 1,07,67,198 have received the first dose and 13,98,400 received the second dose.

The ministry said 12 states and UTs have administered more than 75 per cent of the registered healthcare workers (HCWs). These are Bihar, Tripura, Odisha, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh, UP and Rajasthan.

Nineteen states and union territories have not reported any death due to COVID-19 in a span of 24 hours, while India's active cases stood at 1,46,907 accounting for 1.33 per cent of the total number of infections, the Union Health Ministry said on Wednesday.

A total of 13,742 new cases have been reported in a span of 24 hours, whereas 14,037 recoveries were registered during the same period. It has led to a net decline of 399 cases in the total active caseload, the ministry said.

Maharashtra reported maximum positive changes with an addition of 298 cases whereas Kerala has recorded maximum negative change with subtraction of 803 cases, the ministry stated.

In the past one week, 12 states have reported more than 100 average daily new cases. These are Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Punjab, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Telangana, Delhi and Haryana.  Kerala and Maharashtra reported more than 4,000 average daily new cases in the past week, the ministry said.

Nineteen states and UTs which have not reported any COVID-19 death in a span of 24 hours are Gujarat, Haryana, Rajasthan, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chandigarh, Assam, Lakshadweep, Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.