No 84-day vax gap for those in urgent need to travel abroad

CHANDIGARH : The Punjab government will allow people in urgent need to travel abroad take the second dose of Covishield without waiting for mandatory 84 days. Also, to better the state’s second dose figures, the government has also decided to hold special sessions every Sunday at government centres for the administration of the second shot.

This relaxation for the administration of the second dose has also been extended to foreign nationals needing to return to their countries, health minister Balbir Singh Sidhu said in a statement on Thursday.

For availing this relaxation in inoculation, the people needing to travel abroad for unavoidable reasons may be asked to produce a copy of travel documents such as visas, confirmed tickets and other documents justifying the urgency for undertaking the travel, he added. The decision was taken “as many Punjabis travel abroad for studies or other reasons, the minister said.

“Coverage of Covid-19 vaccination or 2nd dose to beneficiaries remains critical. So, it has been decided to earmark every Sunday for the second dose of vaccination at all government centres,” he said.

64 fresh Covid cases

The state on Thursday reported 64 more cases of coronavirus, taking the infection tally to 6,00,715, according to a medical bulletin. No covid-related death was reported in the state as the toll stood at 16,435. The toll figure included one death which was not reported earlier. The number of active cases in the state was 353.