Coronavirus vaccine for people above 60 years from March 1

New Delhi : Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday announced that the second phase of coronavirus vaccine in India will begin from March 1. In the second phase people with an age of above 60 years will be given COVID-19 vaccine. It will also be given to people above the age of 45 years with comorbidities.

The vaccine will be administered free of cost at 10,000 government hospitals and the candidates can also take the shots from 20,000 private hospitals across the nation.

“Those who want to get vaccinated from private hospitals will have to pay. The amount they would need to pay will be decided by the health ministry within 3-4 days as they are in discussion with manufacturers and hospitals,” Javadekar said at a press briefing.

In the first phase of coronavirus vaccination, health workers and front line workers were administered the vaccine. Around 60 lakh frontline workers were given the vaccine in first phase.

Some states in India have reported a sudden surge in the number of coronavirus cases; acting upon it the Centre rushed three-member multi-disciplinary teams to at least 10 states and union territories which reported increase in the number of COVID-19 infection.

The high-level teams have been sent to states including Maharashtra, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal, as well as the UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Centre has asked states to implement lockdown guidelines strictly to contain the spread of coronavirus.