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With a mere 12 per cent coverage of precaution doses across the country so far, the Union Health Ministry has raised concerns over the low inoculation among eligible beneficiaries, said sources on Tuesday.
"The total number of eligible beneficiaries for precaution dose is 77 crore. The government is pushing hard but precaution dose coverage remains at just 12 per cent," Health Ministry sources told ANI. Sources also revealed that Covishield has been used the highest as the precaution dose compared to other vaccines. According to sources, the average doses administered per day as precaution dose for Covishield has been 22,10,399 whereas, for Covaxin, it has been 3,65,539 and 1,84,848 doses for Corbevax. According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the cumulative number of Precaution Doses administered in the country so far is 15,66,49,800. Of this, 10.39 crore doses had been administered from July 15 till now after the 'COVID Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav' was launched. The "COVID Vaccine Amrit Mahotsav" campaign was launched on July 15, 2022, to give an impetus to precaution doses as part of the national COVID vaccination drive. Under the campaign, free precaution doses at all government COVID vaccination Centres for persons aged 18 years and above for 75 days (from July 15 to September 30, 2022) are being provided. Several meetings with States/UTs and other stakeholders have also been carried out under the leadership of the Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya guiding them on the campaign. Massive countrywide awareness campaigns have enhanced the mass awareness regarding the Precaution Dose. Special vaccination camps have been organized on the routes of Char Dham Yatra (Uttarakhand), Amarnath Yatra (Jammu and Kashmir), Kanwar Yatra (all States/UTs of North India) as well as major Melas and congregations. States/UTs have also been assured of continuous support from the Central government so that processes can be further streamlined and expedited. The Central Government has also advised states/UTs to avoid the expiry of vaccines through elaborate planning and constant monitoring of processes. Earlier this month, the Centre approved Biological E's Corbevax as a precaution dose after completion of six months from the date of administration of the second dose of either Covaxin or Covishield vaccines for the population aged above 18 years. (ANI)
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