Free Covid booster dose for all adults from today

NEW DELHI: This special vaccination drive is a part of the celebration for Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav and aims to provide free precaution dose for all adults (18 years and above) eligible population at Government COVID Vaccination Centres (CVCs).

“It will start from today and continue for the next 75 days. We will try to vaccinate all the citizens between 18-59 years of age,” Dr Bijay Panigrahi, Director, Family Welfare and Nodal Officer Vaccination told ANI.

In a virtual meeting with State/UT Health Secretaries and NHM MDs chaired by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Thursday, States and UTs have been urged to give an intensive and ambitious push toward full COVID19 vaccination coverage by vaccinating all eligible beneficiaries and covering them with precaution dose.

States/UTs were directed to implement ‘COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava’ for 75 days as ‘Jan Abhiyaan’ with massive mass mobilization, through a camp approach. They were advised to organize special vaccination camps on the routes of Char Dham Yatra (Uttarakhand), Amarnath Yatra (Jammu &Kashmir), Kanwar Yatra (all States/UTs of North India) as well as major Melas and congregations.

The Union Health Secretary highlighted that less percentage of precaution doses uptake among population groups aged 18 years and above (8 per cent) and persons aged 60 years and above (27 per cent) is a cause of concern.

The Centre has announced a special drive ‘COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsava’ to be launched to provide free precaution doses at all Government Covid Vaccination Centres for persons aged 18 years and above for 75 days from July 15 to September 30, 2022.

Those eligible for the precaution dose include all persons above 18 years who have completed 6 months (or 26 weeks) from the date of administration of the 2nd dose.

India’s COVID-19 vaccination coverage crossed 199.44 crore (1,99,44,72,253) on Thursday.