West Bengal government to prioritise people awaiting second dose of COVID-19 vaccine

West Bengal government, on Friday, issued a new order on vaccination. In their order, the government said that they will give priority to those who are due for their second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as to provide them with full protection against the deadly virus. 

In the advisory issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, it says, "Those beneficiaries who are due for the 2nd dose of vaccines are prioritized so as to provide them full protection against COVID-19."

It also states, "Close the gap in coverage of existing priority groups of HCWs and FLWS considering their increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 and also maximize coverage in persons aged 45 years due to their vulnerability. The government of India will continue to give free vaccines for this category." 

As for vaccination for all adults, the advisory read, "Phase 3 immunization drive meant for 18-44 age group persons shall be started soon after availability of the vaccine for the age group." 

As for India, the country for the first time has reported more than 4 lakh new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours. A total of 4,01,993 fresh COVID-19 cases were recorded in the last 24 hours taking the cumulative count of the cases to 1,91,64,969, the Union Health Ministry reported on Saturday.

With 3,523 people succumbing to the infection in the last 24 hours, the death toll has mounted to 2,11,853. Currently, there are 32,68,710 active cases of COVID-19 in the country. India also witnessed as many as 2,99,988 recoveries in the last 24 hours taking the cumulative recoveries to 1,56,84,406.