THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The health department has issued an order directing to ensure Covid-19 vaccination for all above the age of 18 years. The order will help people in the 18-44 age group who were not included in any of the priority lists to get vaccines from public vaccination centres after booking their slots.
At present, people in this age group have to depend on private hospitals for vaccination. However, it is not immediately clear how soon the slots will be available for the category. The state which is providing 2-2.5 lakh jabs per day has been focusing on giving the first dose to priority groups in 18 plus category and second dose to 45 plus category.
Notwithstanding the new order issued, the above groups will have priority in vaccine distribution, said health minister Veena George. She cautioned the public against crowding at vaccine centres for spot booking instead of booking slots online. The vaccination numbers will be increased to the maximum limit when more doses are available, she said.
The department received 1,56,650 doses of Covishield on Monday. It has been distributed to Thiruvananthapuram (53,500 doses), Ernakulam (61,150 doses) and Kozhikode (42,000 doses). The state has received 1,30,38,940 doses so far. Five districts -- Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Malappuram and Kozhikode -- have given over 10 lakh doses each. As many as 1,05,37,705 (31.54 per cent) received the first dose while 29,93,856 (8.96 per cent) received the second dose also.