Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant on Thursday said that the vaccination programme for the 18-44 age group will take place as and when the State receive the doses.
Sawant said that the vaccine manufacturing companies are in the process of expanding their capacities and that the third vaccine is also getting introduced. Goa has placed an order of five lakh doses with the Serum Institute.
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“It is the responsibility of the government and the larger population to make this phase of vaccination successful. We will plan the vaccination programme in detail, announce it in due time, so that slots will be available and people get vaccinated in a smooth and disciplined manner,” he said.
The Chief Minister said that Goa received over 4.3 lakh doses of vaccination for three phases. Over 2.5 lakh people were vaccinated with the first dose and over 68,000 with the second dose. The State has over 1.1 lakh doses available with it for further vaccination.
Sawant said both – the hospital staff and the people who got vaccinated – deserve a big applause. The whole process has been well planned, well executed and people cooperated fully.
“Now it’s time for the fourth phase of vaccination for a large group of population (18 to 44 years). The Centre has liberalised this phase for procurement and implementation plans due to the demand of several Chief Ministers in the last three months to give liberty in choosing vaccines and planning of vaccination,” Sawant said, adding “Now it’s the duty of our State to procure the vaccine and plan successful vaccination of the larger population. Both these will happen in stages.”
