Differently-abled, people with restricted mobility to get Covid vaccine jabs at homes: Indian govt

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi advocated for mutual recognition of Covid vaccine certificates by countries to make international travel easier, the Indian government on Thursday announced that differently-abled and people with restricted mobility will be inoculated with Covid vaccine doses at their homes.

In a press briefing, union health ministry officials said even as the number of daily new cases is witnessing a downward trend, the country is still facing the COVID-19 second wave.

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About two third of the adult population in India has been vaccinated with single dose of Covid vaccine.

Around 66% of people above 18 years of age have received at least one dose. About 23% of this group have received both doses. “It's an important milestone,” said Dr VK Paul, Member-Health, NITI Aayog.

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“We have been able to achieve this due to tremendous work by some states,” said Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan.

The officials also added, 62.73% of total infections reported last week were from Kerala alone. It is the only state with over one lakh active Covid cases.

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As per the officials, 33 districts in the country are now reporting over 10% weekly positivity rate, while 23 are recording between 5% and 10%.

In the guidelines for the upcoming festive season, the mass gatherings have to be avoided in containment zones and districts with over 5% positivity rate.

(With inputs from agencies)