BackExpedite second Covid vaccine jab to healthcare workers: Govt tells states
The Centre's order has come as it noted low Covid vaccination coverage among the healthcare and frontline workers, especially for the second doseThe national average for the second dose administration among the healthcare workers is 56%
PremiumThe central government directed all state governments and union territories to speedily vaccinate healthcare and frontline workers with the second dose of the Covid vaccines on Thursday.
The Centre's order has come as it noted low Covid vaccination coverage among the healthcare and frontline workers, especially for the second dose.
According to the union health ministry's data, the national average for the first dose administration among the healthcare workers (HCWs) is 82%, for the second dose, it is only 56%.
The coverage in 18 states and union territories, including Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, and Assam, is below the national average in this aspect, the ministry added.
Whereas in case of frontline workers (FLWs), the national average of first-dose coverage is 85% but for the second dose, it is only 47%.
As many as 19 states and UTs, including Bihar, Haryana, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Puducherry, Telangana, Karnataka, and Punjab, have reported a second-dose coverage of FLWs below the national average, the ministry data added.
A high-level meeting chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday reiterated that universal coverage and full protection amongst the aforementioned priority groups is crucial to protect the healthcare response to the pandemic.
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