Gujarat: Vaccination for above 45 age group suspended for three days

The Gujarat government has suspended Covid-19 vaccination drive for the age group of 45 years and above for three days even as the state added 10,742 new cases and 109 deaths on Thursday. The drive will resume on May 17.

The decision to suspend vaccination for three days from Friday comes following the Central government’s announcement that the second dose of Covishield can be administered 12 to 16 weeks after the first dose. As per a statement from the state government, the suspension is to “reschedule the scheduled” second dose beneficiaries according to the revised guideline.

For the 18-45 age group, the scheduled beneficiaries who have already received the SMS confirming their appointment in these three days, will get the vaccine between May 14 and 16, the release said.

As per the CoWIN dashboard, the state administered over 1.72 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday. The state has managed to vaccinate 1.11 crore people, of the total six crore-plus population of the state. As many as 38 lakh have been administered both the doses, the release said.

Meanwhile, the state government in a core committee meeting chaired by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani announced that the health department will fill 2,019 vacant posts of nursing staff through direct recruitment immediately.

Rupani also announced that the state government shall provide monthly financial assistance of Rs 4,000 to children orphaned due to Covid-19. The children shall receive such assistance till they turn 18 years of age.

Meanwhile, the rural district of Amreli continues to see a surge with the district reporting 298 new Covid cases.