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With the number of Covid-19 positive cases going up sharply, the Andhra Pradesh as well as Telangana governments have asked the Centre to make it easier for people to get the booster (precaution) dose by reducing the lag from nine months to six months to make one eligible for the third dose.
“Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy will write a letter to the Union Health Ministry, requesting it to consider altering the eligibility criterion,” a senior Andhra Pradesh government official said.
“If you reduce the time limit, more people will take the booster dose. This will help them fight the infection better and reduce the number of serious cases and hospitalisations,” he said.
The rate of growth in Covid-19 infections in Andhra Pradesh is one of the highest in the country, with every sixth person tested turning positive for the infection.
On Tuesday, the State reported 6,996 new Covid cases four Covid-related deaths. The number of samples being tested continues to be very low. It tested 38,000 samples on Tuesday.
It has about 36,000 active cases, with Chittoor and Visakhapatnam districts accounting for about 40 per cent of the total cases.
Telangana letter
Telangana Health and Finance Minister T Harish Rao has written a letter to Union Health Minister Mansuk Mandaviya asking him to reduce the lag between the second dose and precaution dose to six months from nine months.
“While reducing it to three months for health workers, the Government should give a booster dose to all the people above 60 years of age, including those with no comorbidities,” he said.
“The Government should also consider giving booster dose to all people above the age of 18 years. These measures will help us protect people from severe infections and reduce mortality associated with Covid-19 infection.
The State reported 2,983 new positive cases and two deaths on Tuesday. The State, which increased the number of tests to 1.07 lakhs, awaits results of 14,000 tests. The number of active cases stands at 22,472.
“The number of hospitalisations is very less when compared to the second wave. Only a fraction of the oxygen and ICU beds are occupied with Covid patients. But this might go up significantly in the next one-two weeks,” a government official said.
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