People aged 18-59 to get free COVID booster doses from July 15 at govt centres
As a part of the government’s Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to celebrate the 75th anniversary of India’s independence, the Centre announced a free booster dose drive for the next 75 days to boost the uptake of Covid precaution doses.
On Wednesday the Union Health minister Mansukh Mandaviya announced that the Centre will provide free booster doses of Covid vaccines for the 18-59 age group at government vaccination centres under a 75-day special drive from July 15.
“Under the Amrit Mahotsav of Azadi, a 75-day free vaccination campaign will be conducted from July 15, in which all citizens above the age of 18 years will be given free vaccination doses at government centres”, Mandaviya said in a tweet. Mandaviya thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for this decision.
As part of #AzadiKaAmritMahotsav celebrations, free COVID-19 Precaution Dose will be administered to all the citizens above 18 years of age at Government vaccination centres, from 15th July 2022 till the next 75 days.
I thank PM @NarendraModi Ji for this decision. pic.twitter.com/cCMmpLeWHN
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) July 13, 2022
Urging eligible population to get the precaution doses, he said in a subsequent tweet: “With this decision, India’s fight against Covid will be strengthened and additional security of citizens will also be ensured. I urge that all adult citizens must get the prevention dose.”
The Union Health Ministry last week reduced the gap between the second and precaution dose of COVID-19 vaccine from the existing nine months to six months for those above 18 years of age.
In a letter to chief secretaries and administrators of all states and Union territories, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that the decision has been taken on the recommendation of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI)
To accelerate the pace of vaccination and encourage booster shots, the government also initiated the second round of the ‘Har Ghar Dastak campaign 2.0‘ across states and UTs on June 1. The two-month programme is currently underway.
[With Inputs from IANS]
PGurus is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel and stay updated with all the latest news and views
For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.
