Covid-19: Only six states to begin vaccination for 18+ from today
The liberalized third phase of the nationwide COVID-19 vaccination drive begins on Saturday, May 1. Under this phase, all adults will be able to get vaccinated against the virus. Prior to this, only those above 45 years, frontline and healthcare workers were eligible to register for vaccination. However, due to a shortage of doses, the majority of the states have deferred launching the third phase of the drive and said that the 18 to 44 age group will be inoculated after they procure sufficient vaccines.
Only six states will be able to roll out the vaccine drive for the younger age group from Saturday. These include Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Odisha. In most of these states, vaccination will be limited to just a few districts.
States/UTs that deferred phase 3 of the vaccination drive:
Delhi:
Delhi will not launch its vaccine drive for those between 18-44 years from Saturday as the city has not received enough doses, said Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday. The government will formally announce a date of launch for the mega vaccination drive.
Himachal Pradesh:
Himachal Pradesh may take up to three-four weeks to start the COVID-19 vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group, Special Health Secretary Nipun Jindal said. The vaccination will not start till the supplies of the vaccines are received, he said.
West Bengal:
The COVID-19 vaccination drive for people in the 18-44 age group will not begin in West Bengal from Saturday due to paucity of doses, a senior official of the state’s health department said. The ongoing inoculation process for those above the age of 44 will, however, continue at different medical facilities depending on the availability of vaccines.
Goa:
Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has indicated that the vaccination drive for those aged between 18 to 45 will not be rolled out in the state from May 1 onwards. Revealing that Goa had not received any doses for this purpose, he assured that the new phase of inoculation will commence as soon as the vaccine stock is acquired.
Punjab:
The Punjab government has also indicated that it could not start the vaccination process for the 18+ population from May 1 as the state is facing a shortage of doses. The Congress government in the state has also written to SII for vaccine doses to start vaccination in time but has not received a response yet.
Arunachal Pradesh:
The Arunachal Pradesh government has deferred the roll-out of the COVID-19 inoculation drive for those in the 18-44 years age group from May 1, as the state is facing some “technical” issues.
Tamil Nadu:
Due to the uncertainty over the supply of COVID-19 vaccines – Covishield and Covaxin, the Tamil Nadu government deferred its rollout of the massive vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group on May 1 as originally planned.
Telangana:
Though the Telangana government is in touch with the vaccine manufacturers, there is no certainty on when the stocks would be available for mass vaccination. “There are no possibilities (of vaccination for the younger age group,” said Telangana Public Health Director G Srinivasa Rao.
Jammu and Kashmir:
The Jammu and Kashmir government on Friday said vaccination of people belonging to the 18-44 age group will not begin on May 1 as scheduled. The government said that it will begin from a date to be announced later once the vaccine supply is regulated.
Andhra Pradesh:
Andhra Pradesh too expressed its inability to implement the third phase of inoculation due to a shortage of vaccine doses. Anil Kumar Singhal, principal secretary (medical and health) said the state needs four crore vaccines to vaccinate two crore people (two doses) in the 18-44 years age group.
Kerala:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the state can’t decide anything on its own when there is a shortage. “It has become difficult to decide on vaccination,” he said, apparently hinting the inoculation drive may not take off on Saturday.
Karnataka:
Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said the inoculation drive for people in the 18+ age group will be delayed as the vaccine has not been supplied yet. “Our Health Minister Dr. K Sudhakar has said clearly that the vaccine has not been supplied yet. We will vaccinate people once it arrives,” he told reporters.
Puducherry:
In the union territory of Puducherry, the plan to vaccinate those in the said age group, scheduled for May 1, has also been shelved for now. A spokesman of the Department of Health and Family Welfare Services said that the consignment of vaccines needed for the program has not arrived and hence the program is delayed.
Madhya Pradesh:
The vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group would not start on May 1 in Madhya Pradesh as the manufacturers cannot supply enough vaccine doses in time, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said. “Hopefully, we will be getting vaccine doses around May 3. After that we will give the final shape to the drive for the young people,” he added.
