In news which will immensely help the battle against Covid-19, the government of India announced several measures on Monday to combat the growing cases of Covid in the country. According to the new national vaccination policy, states can buy coronavirus vaccines directly from manufacturers and all those above the age of 18 will be eligible to get the shot from 1 May. Currently, only those above 45 years of age and those categorized as healthcare and frontline workers are eligible. For a state like Arunachal, where the population is still very low, these new measures will massively aid in the battle against Covid-19.
The state government should avail the opportunity of being allowed to directly buy vaccines from the manufacturers. The health department should immediately place orders for the vaccine. Arunachal is one of the least populated states of the country. If the vaccine drive is launched with a proper plan, the state can be covered very quickly. The government of Arunachal should make an early move. In the next few days, every state will try to buy vaccines directly from the manufacturers. Those who move early will stand to benefit. The union government also announced that from 1 May onwards all those above 18 years of age will be eligible for the vaccine. A major chunk of the population in the state is between 18 and 45 years of age. Therefore, the majority of the population will be covered if the government orders Covid-19 vaccines from its own end. The vaccine being made available from the Centre is not enough.