HOPE FOR 60 & ABOVE
Also prioritised for vaccination March 1 onwards are those above 45 with comorbidities
The wait for vaccines is over for those above 60 years of age – the category that is disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
They will be able to get the vaccine from March 1 for free at government facilities and for a charge at many private hospitals. (It is estimated that there are no less than 10 crore people in the country in this category).
The government has also decided to prioritise ahead of other age groups those over 45 years with comorbidities. They too will be eligible for the jab from the aforesaid date, even though the government is yet to define comorbidity.
The vaccine is likely to be on first-come, first serve basis; the vaccine price is likely to be capped at Rs 300 at private hospitals.
The decision was taken by the Union Cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said at a media briefing here.
Asked whether ministers and the prime minister, who fall in the 60 plus category, will get inoculated, Javadekar said those who want to take the jab will get it at the place of their choosing from March 1.
The vaccine will be administered in 10,000 government medical facilities and also in over 20,000 private hospitals. Those charge for those who want to get vaccinated in private hospitals will be decided by the health ministr y in the next three-four days. The discussions are on with the stakeholders regarding this.
Asked if beneficiaries will be given the freedom of choice – whether they wish to take Covishield or COVAXIN – Javadekar gave a cr yptic response, saying that India is proud to have two vaccines which are both effective with proven efficacy.
Suneela Garg, an advisor to the ICMR, told a TV channel on Tuesday that as the vaccination drive expands to include the larger population, there will be segregation based on several criteria, and that each subgroup will have separate timelines. Dr Garg, who is also on the Lancet Commission's Covid-19 India Taskforce, said those with comorbidities like "diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases" will be prioritised above people with other diseases. The eligible population of those over 60 years and those over 45 years with comorbidities will be able to self-register with the help of a CoWin 2.0 app and Aarogya Setu. Beneficiaries above the age of 45 will have to upload and provide a certificate from a doctor to prove they have a specific comorbidity. Beneficiaries will have an option of choosing the date and location of their nearest vaccination site; an option to choose between public-run or private-run centres; and an option to update age; a digital certificate will be given to beneficiaries af ter the first dose of vaccination.