New Delhi, India

Government of India has initiated a special Covid vaccination drive under which individuals aged 18 to 59 years, will be eligible for a free "precaution dose". As part of a special 75-day campaign to commemorate India's 75th anniversary of independence, the dose will be made available at government immunisation clinics starting on Friday, July 15. PTI reports that the campaign has been nicknamed "Covid Vaccination Amrit Mahotsav" and was launched by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya at a Nirman Bhawan inoculation camp on Friday. The government said in a statement that in all such special vaccination camps, immunisation must be done through CoWIN and a vaccination certificate must be presented.

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The ministry also said that for the effort to be implemented successfully and to guarantee that every eligible population is covered by the preventive dose, ambitious district/block/CVC-wise session plans must be created.

Rajesh Bhushan, the union health secretary, also urged states and union territories to hold special vaccination clinics on different Yatra routes as well as office buildings, railway stations, schools, and colleges to administer precautionary doses of the Covid vaccine to all individuals 18 years of age and older.

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It was suggested that they set up special immunisation clinics along the routes of the Char Dham Yatra (Uttarakhand), Amarnath Yatra (Jammu and Kashmir), and Kanwar Yatra (all states and union territories of north India), as well as at significant melas and gatherings.

In India, less than 1 per cent of the 77.10 crore target population in the 18-59 age group had received the precautionary dose so far. 

However, quoting a government source, PTI reported that 25.84 per cent of the 16.80 crore eligible people aged 60 and above, as well as healthcare and frontline personnel, have gotten the booster dose.

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(With inputs from agencies)

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