Free vaccine for all adults in Delhi, K’taka
NEW DELHI/BENGALURU: Delhi and Karnataka said on Monday they will vaccinate their entire adult population for free once the immunisation drive is widened from May 1, pledging to speed up the process of administering jabs as the health care infrastructure remains overrun by a caseload that has been mounting amid an unprecedented second wave of infections.
With this, Delhi and Karnataka have joined 17 Indian states, including Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and Tamil Nadu, to have
decided to vaccinate their population free of cost.
Data shows that countries such as the US and the UK, which were overwhelmed by Covid-19 cases at the beginning of 2021, are now defying alarming trends as vaccination efforts are ramped up. Israel, which has administered the most vaccine doses per 100 people, recently recorded no new daily Covid-19 deaths for the first time in 10 months.
“As we are seeing, Covid-19 has wreaked havoc in the country. There is only one solution to this pandemic and that is vaccination. Delhi government has decided to give free Covid-19 vaccines to those who are 18 and above,” Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said. The free vaccines will be meant only for the residents of Delhi, even as the detailed plan of the drive was yet to be finalised by the government, according to people aware of the matter.
In a digital news briefing, the CM said a purchase of 13.4 million doses has been approved and that his government will make efforts to speed up the process. “We are working on a plan to start large-scale vaccination as soon as possible,” he said. He also urged vaccine manufacturers in the country to reduce their prices and asked the Centre to consider a “one nation, one rate” policy for Covid-19 vaccines.
The chief minister’s office said the free vaccines will be available in all government-run Covid-19 vaccination centres in Delhi while those who opt for private centres will have to pay for the jabs.
The central government has announced that it will expand the Covid-19 vaccination drive to everyone over the age of 18 from May 1, a move many said was prompted by the worsening second wave of infections in the country. Registrations for vaccination in the next phase will open on the CoWIN app from Wednesday.
In Karnataka, chief minister chief minister BS Yediyurappa announced stricter regulations across the state for two weeks, beginning on Tuesday, in an attempt to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Calling it a two-week curfew instead of a lockdown, Yediyurappa went on to announce lockdown-like rules -- that include curtailing free movement of people except from 6am to 10pm.
“Strict measures to control the pandemic will be taken. From tomorrow (Tuesday) night, for the next 14 day, only essential services will be open from 6am-10am. Shops will be closed after that,” he said after an over two-hour Cabinet meeting.
The state government had earlier said that it would not announce a lockdown under any condition.
Yediyurappa said that all sectors, such as manufacturing, agriculture, construction, medical and essential goods, will continue to function except the garment factories where hundreds of thousands of people work side-by-side. “Agriculture sector, manufacturing sector except garments, construction, medical and essential sector will continue to operate. All DCs (district collectors) and tahsildars [have been instructed] to take strict measures,” Yediyurappa said.
Interstate transportation of goods will also be allowed while public transport services will be shut.
The decision comes a day after Karnataka and its capital, Bengaluru, registered record single-day spikes with 34,804 and 20,733 new infections respectively. The positivity rate in Karnataka reached almost 20% in 24 hours on Saturday, raising concerns about the health crisis.
The active cases in Karnataka stood at 262,162 of which Bengaluru accounts for 180,542, according to the daily bulletin of the state health department.
The curbs could be extended if the situation does not come under control within these 14 days, said the CM, adding that free vaccination will be provided at government hospitals for all adults from May 1.