Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Sunday directed the Health Department to order 30 lakh Covishield doses for vaccination of the 18-45 age group, with directions to use CM Covid Relief Fund for meeting the vaccine requirements of the poor. The Chief Minister asked the Department to immediately place order for the 30 lakh doses with the Serum institute of India so that the supplies can start coming in at the earliest, even though as per information provided by the Central Government, delivery of vaccines for the 18-45 age group is not expected before May 15.
To ensure free vaccination of the poor, Amarinder said in addition to the CM COVID relief fund, CSR funds should also be tapped into. ESIC should be asked to support the vaccination of industrial workers covered in the scheme, and the Board for Welfare of Construction Workers for construction labourers, he added.
Singh requested the Expert Group led by Dr Gagandeep Kang to submit the strategy for prioritisation of 18-45 years group (vulnerable groups in high risk areas -high transmission, high mortality etc including Construction workers and Industrial workers) in its first report by April 29. He said that the government will consider approaching Astrazeneca (India) directly to allow the Punjab government to avail the lower price of Rs 162 per dose available to the global community.