The third phase of India's vaccination drive against COVID-19 began on Monday. Around 27 crore people are eligible to get vaccines in this round, and registrations have already begun. Prime Minister Modi also got vaccinated earlier on Monday morning - move that many believe will increase confidence in Covishield and Covaxin.
In this phase, eligible individuals can choose to get inoculated at government hospitals as well as in private centres. Accordingly, the Health Ministry had recently released a list of private private hospitals where the vaccine will now be available. While it will be given free of cost at government hospitals, it will cost up to Rs. 250 at private centres.
Those eligible for the vaccine in the current phase can be divided into two segments - senior citizens and those between the ages of 45 and 59 who have comorbidities. The ministry has specified 20 comorbidities that make people in this age bracket eligible for vaccination. And beneficiaries will have to produce a medical certificate signed by a registered practitioner before they receive the injection.
The list of comorbidities range from heart failure to diabetes and end-stage kidney disease. In a document released on the Union Health Ministry website for the Co-WIN 2.0 app, the Centre has highlighted the medical issues that are being taken into consideration in the present phase of vaccination.
The government has also provided a form that has to be filled in by a registered medical practitioner with the name of the beneficiary and what medical condition they face. "Presence of any one of the following criteria will prioritize the individual for vaccination," the form adds.
Here's a full list of comorbidities that are currently being prioritised for vaccination:
