Guj begins administering precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine; aims to cover 9 lakh eligible people

The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.The next phase of inoculation commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions.

The Gujarat health department on Monday started administering the precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine to frontline and healthcare workers as well as co-morbid people aged 60 and above, with an aim to cover nine lakh eligible people. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel was present at an urban health centre in the state capital Gandhinagar during the commencement of the drive, as per a release issued by the Chief Minister's Office.

Approximately nine lakh eligible people will be administered the precaution doses at around 3,500 vaccination centres where more than 17,000 health workers would be engaged for the purpose, the release said.

According to guidelines issued by the Union Health Ministry, the gap between the date of administering the second dose of vaccine and the precaution dose would be nine months (39 weeks).

CoWIN will send reminder messages to all those eligible for this dose and after administration of the shot, it will be noted in the digital vaccination certificate.

Online appointments for precaution dose began on the CoWin portal on Saturday evening. However, there is also the option of an onsite appointment.

Meanwhile, the state health department has administered vaccine doses to 18.73 lakh beneficiaries in the 15 to 18 age group till Sunday, since the beginning of the drive for this category from January 3 this year. Besides, since the commencement of the vaccination drive last year for health, frontline workers and people aged 18 and above, a total of 9.31 crore doses have been administered so far in the state.

The countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 last year with healthcare workers getting inoculated in the first phase. The vaccination of frontline workers started from February 2.

The next phase of inoculation commenced from March 1 for people over 60 years of age and those aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. The country launched vaccination for all people aged more than 45 years from April 1.

The government then decided to expand its vaccination drive by allowing everyone above 18 to be vaccinated from May 1, 2021, while the inoculation of teenagers in the age group of 15-18 years started from January 3 this year.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)