People who are 45 and older will now be able to get vaccinated from April 1, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Tuesday at a stage when the country is facing a second wave of the novel virus.
“I appeal to every citizen who is 45 or above to register for vaccination,†this decision has been taken by cabinet on the basis of the advice of the coronavirus Task Force and experts, Javadekar said.
At present, only citizens who are above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses are allowed to get vaccination. The nationwide inoculation drive started in January 2021.
According to the minister, 4.85 crore people have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine and 80 lakh have received the second dose.
Vaccinations rolled out on January 16 with healthcare workers and February 2 onwards, frontline workers were also declared eligible.