Vijayawada: With the state receiving six lakh doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, health authorities will be vaccinating healthcare and frontline workers who have not taken the first vaccine so far, and complete the course for others.
Five lakh doses of Covishield and one lakh doses of Covaxin were distributed to the districts as per requirement on Saturday, and district authorities were told to prioritise the targeted beneficiaries for the jab.
Fifteen per cent of healthcare workers and 35 per cent of frontline workers have not taken the first dose. Apart from these two categories, people aged over 45 years who have received the first dose will be given priority to get the second shot.
The Centre has recommended increasing the gap for the second dose of Covishield to six to eight weeks from the earlier four weeks for better results. For Covaxin, the second dose will be given after four weeks of first dose.
State health authorities are planning vaccination drive to the targeted beneficiaries on saturation mode which means that all eligible persons in villages or wards to be given the jab and no eligible person to be left out when the state receives next consignment of vaccines from the Centre.
State health director Dr T. Geetha Prasadini said, “We have instructed the districts to prioritise administering the newly-received six lakh doses to cover HCWs and FLWs who failed to get even the first dose and also to cover those who need second dose.”
