States like Maharashtra and Delhi have requested the Centre to remove the age limit for immunisation. 3 hours ago A file photo of a woman receiving a dose of the coronavirus vaccine in Ahmedabad. | Reuters/Amit Dave
India is currently in its third phase of Covid-19 vaccination where those above 45 years are eligible to get the shots. Public and private hospitals have administered over eight crore doses with most of them accounting for the first dose.
But this phase has coincided with the second wave of Covid-19 infections.
Three months after it rolled out vaccines, the country hit a grim milestone on Monday when it recorded over a lakh fresh cases with cases surging in states like Maharashtra, Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Karnataka among others.
India urged to speed up vaccine campaign as country records 100,000 cases in a single day
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A woman and girl walk graffiti depicting coronavirus jab in Mumbai amid a surge in cases
Credit: Rafiq Maqbool/AP
Doctors and local government officials are urging Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to extend vaccinations to younger people as the country s hospitals face being overwhelmed with a second wave of Covid.
The number of deaths has risen sharply alongside the increase in cases, with the seven-day average of daily cases and deaths both rising by nearly 350 per cent since early March.
Unlike the earlier waves, this time infections are rising in smaller cities like Nashik, Aurangabad, Nanded and Ahmednagar and even the surrounding rural areas
With Covid-19 numbers once again rising ominously, thats a message more people might need to heed.. Since the body requires time to mount an immune response after taking the vaccine, it is important to remember that vaccination is just part of the strategy to combat Covid-19, say experts.