Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday announced that everyone above the age of 45 years can get themselves vaccinated from April 1.
Addressing a press conference here Javadekar said, "It has been decided that from 1st April, the vaccine will open for everybody above 45 years of age. We request that all eligible should immediately register and get vaccinated."
He further added that as per the advice by scientists and world scientist bodies, the second dose vaccines can be administered between the fourth and eighth week, particularly for Covishield.
The Minister also appealed to the people that all above the age of 45 years should take the vaccine as early as possible.
The Central government on Monday had said that the gap between the first and second doses of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University's Covishield vaccine should be increased to 6-8 weeks from the current 28 days.
In a press release, the Union Health Ministry said that in view of the emerging scientific evidence, the interval between two doses of a specific COVID-19 vaccine example Covishield has been revisited by the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) and subsequently by National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC) in its 20th meeting.
The cumulative number of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country has crossed 4.72 crores with 19,65,635 doses being given on Monday, the Union Health Ministry said.
( With inputs from ANI )
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