Still, on the matters of COVID-19, the Indian government recently announced that it will start administering COVID-19 booster shots as a precautionary measure to frontline and healthcare workers starting from January 10th.
The announcement was made by the country’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday as the number of Omicron variants continues to rise in the country as well.
Modi said that those between the age of 15 and 18 would start receiving COVID-19 vaccines starting from Jan. 3rd while older individuals above the age of 60 with comorbidities would be offered booster shots based on recommendations from doctors.
“From the point of view of precaution, the government has decided that healthcare and frontline workers should start getting a precaution dose,” Modi said in the speech.
India, just like other countries across the world has seen a surge in the number of Omicron cases with the number reaching 415 overall across 17 states nationwide.
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However, the government continues to accelerate its vaccine campaign and has successfully administered at least one dose to 88% of the eligible 944 million population while about 61% of the population have gotten both doses.
Millions of others still await their second shots despite the proposed booster shots to be administered to healthcare and frontline workers starting by Jan. 10th.
Medical experts have said India needs to double down on its vaccination campaign and expand coverage to avert another possible surge in new infections particularly in the vast hinterlands where healthcare facilities are sparse.
However, Modi’s government continues to encourage Indians to make use of their facemasks and follow other COVID-19 protocols set up by the government and experts.
Also, the government has discouraged overcrowding in public places especially during the festive season until the new year while some states partially banned public celebrations in general.
COVID-19 infections in the nation of 1.3 billion people have fallen by almost half from a month ago.
In just 24 hours, the country has reported about 7,189 new cases with an overall tally of 34.78 million making it the second-highest globally right behind the United States.
