Punjab CM urges PM Modi to expand COVID-19 vaccine coverage to younger people as 81% of new cases are UK variant

Expressing concern over the COVID-19 situation, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, on Tuesday, urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to widen the vaccination ambit to cover those younger than 60 as the UK variant of COVID-19 has been found to be infecting young people more.

Punjab Chief Minister further said that 81 per cent of the 401 samples sent by the government for genome sequencing have tested positive for the UK variant of COVID-19 and affecting more young people.

"Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh expresses concern as 81% of latest 401 samples sent by Punjab for genome sequencing show new UK Covid variant, affecting more young people. Urges PM Narendra Modi to expand COVID-19 vaccine to under 60," Raveen Thukral, Media Advisor to Punjab CM, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Meanwhile, Amarinder Singh also urged people to strictly follow all Covid protocols, including wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. He appealed to people to get themselves vaccinated and stressed the need for the Central government to urgently open up vaccination for a larger section of the population.

For the last few weeks, coronavirus numbers have been shooting up in the state. Punjab reported 2,319 fresh COVID-19 cases on Monday, taking the tally to 2,15,409, while 58 fatalities pushed the death toll to 6,382. The infection tally climbed to 2,15,409 with over 2,300 more people getting infected, according to a bulletin.