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Business News/ News / India/  ‘Those eligible for a second covid dose must be vaccinated’
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‘Those eligible for a second covid dose must be vaccinated’

The statement comes even as India is all set to complete 1 billion in cumulative covid-19 vaccinations

More than 1.2 billion vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union territories so far. AFP (Photo: AFP)Premium
More than 1.2 billion vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union territories so far. AFP (Photo: AFP)

NEW DELHI : A sizeable number of beneficiaries who are eligible have not received their second dose of covid-19 vaccine, the central government said on Tuesday.

The statement comes even as India is all set to complete 1 billion in cumulative covid-19 vaccinations.

States and Union territories should focus on the second vaccination dose, said Rajesh Bhushan, the Union health secretary. Bhushan reviewed the progress of vaccination with health secretaries and national health mission (NHM) directors of states and Union territories through video conferencing on Monday.

Many states have adequate doses to vaccinate those who are awaiting their second dose, the Centre said. The government of India told states and Union territories that it is in a position to provide additional vaccine doses so that they can complete the task and exhorted them to accelerate the vaccination drive.

States and Union territories were advised to prioritize districts with low coverage for focused action and explore requirement for mobilization efforts, addressing local challenges, such as the need for additional covid-19 vaccination centres and improvement of access in rural areas. They were also requested to share their strategies to enhance second dose coverage.

More than 1.2 billion vaccine doses have been provided to states and Union territories so far through government of India channel and through direct state procurement category, the health ministry said. More than 104 million unutilized covid-19 vaccine doses are still available with the states and Union territories to be administered, it said.

India’s cumulative covid-19 vaccination on Tuesday crossed 990 million.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya earlier said that approximately 74% people above 18 years of age have been vaccinated with the first dose and more than 30% of the population have been given both the doses.

Meanwhile, the health ministry has issued various standard operating procedures (SOPs) over the last one year for international travel. “It is in the process of reviewing the guidelines in consultation with all stakeholders, including the ministry of home affairs, bureau of immigration, ministry of civil aviation, and the ministry of external affairs. States and Union territories were also requested to share their feedback," the Union health ministry said.

At least 13,058 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the lowest in 231 days, government data showed. The active caseload is less than 200,000 and is the lowest since March 2020. Active cases constitute 0.54% of the country’s total positive cases. The weekly positivity rate at 1.36% has been less than 3% for the last 116 days, while the daily positivity rate of 1.11% has been less than 3% for the last 50 days and below 5% for 133 days.

The recovery of 19,470 patients in the last 24 hours has increased the tally of recovered patients since the coronavirus outbreak to more than 33.4 million. This takes India’s recovery rate to 98.14%, the highest since March 2020, the government said.

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Published: 19 Oct 2021, 07:49 PM IST
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