The Indian state of Maharashtra and the territory of the Union of Delhi have asked the central government to reduce the age limit of those eligible to receive the Covid-19 vaccine amid an increase in new cases.
“If the central government allows us to vaccinate people en masse, we could create thousands of facilities in schools, community centers and start a vaccination war,” Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi’s chief minister, said on Monday.
Since April 1, the Indian government has been supplying Covid-19 vaccines to anyone aged 45 and over.
In Maharashtra, where weekend blockades and night curfews were instituted by the end of April to curb the spread of the virus, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray reiterated the call to reduce the age limit.
“If a larger number of our young, active population is vaccinated, the intensity of the cases will be much less than the treatment they need today,” Thackeray said in his letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, calling for eligibility. to be reduced to everyone over the age of 25.
The state of Maharashtra accounts for more than half of the new Covid-19 cases in the country.
India is facing a second wave of coronavirus, with more than 100,000 infections reported on Monday, the biggest single-day increase since the pandemic began.
On Tuesday, India recorded 96,982 cases, bringing the total to 12,686,049, including 165,547 deaths, according to the Indian Ministry of Health.