The Uttar Pradesh government has announced that Covid vaccination for 18 years and above will be launched in a phased manner starting with seven most-affected districts of the state from Saturday.
“The vaccination drive foe those above 18 years of age will start only in those districts from tomorrow where active cases are more than 9,000,” Additional Chief Secretary, Health, Amit Mohan Prasad here on Friday.
The seven districts where the vaccine drive will be launched are Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Meerut and Bareilly.
Prasad said that gradually, the drive will be extended to all the districts in the coming days. The dates and names of the districts will be announced later, he said.
UP will be getting one crore vaccines – 50 lakh Covishield and 50 lakh Covaxin doses from two companies for this phase of the drive. The vaccination facility for people aged 18 years and above will be available at all the hospitals along with community health centres.
The registration process has started and there is apprehension that there is not enough vaccine available. Some experts believe that the decision to go for mass vaccination of 18+ was taken in a haste without taking into consideration the availability of vaccines.
To meet the demand, the government has decided to float a global tender of 4 crore vaccine doses. “The government is trying to procure vaccines to meet the demand. We have got the support from the Centre and after global tender, I believe we will have enough vaccines for all,” Prasad said.