Vaccination of people above 50 years of age likely to start from March

New Delhi : The third phase of vaccination against the coronavirus is likely to commence in March and will cover 27 crore people aged 50 years and above and those with comorbidities, Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said in Lok Sabha on Friday.

Replying to questions on vaccines and the vaccination drive against the coronavirus during the Question Hour, Vardhan said nearly five million people have been inoculated in the country so far.He added that the vaccination drive for frontline workers has begun this week.

He has confirmed that the vaccination timeline will also have to be extended, which has so far been limited to immunising only 5 million people. The vaccination campaign against Coronavirus has started in India from 16 January.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “In the first phase, the target was to have about one lakh health care workers vaccinated in both the public and private sectors, which is growing quite fast. In the second phase, an estimated 2 lakh frontline workers are to be vaccinated, and it has started in many places in the country on 2 February this week. ”

He said, “After the completion of the first and second phases, the third phase will begin in which all people above 50 years of age will be vaccinated. It is not possible to give an exact date, but it is likely that the process will start soon in the second, third or fourth week of March.”

The Health Minister said that the government has “sufficient doses” for the ongoing phase and the existing cold storage facilities have also been strengthened under the Universal Immunization Program and are being used for storage of vaccines. As of 1 February, more than 2 lakh vaccine doses have been provided to all states and union territories.