The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) has announced that its urban primary health centres (UPHCs) and mega-centres will start providing COVID vaccine booster doses from 15 July to every person aged 18 years and above.
The civic body, in the late evening, released a press note announcing that its 92 UPHCs and six mega-centres will provide booster doses of Covishield vaccines. Its 34 UPHCs and one mega-centre will provide booster dose for Covaxin. It further noted that the booster for CorBEvax will be available in 16 UPHCs and one mega-centre. In all, a total of 150 UPHCs and mega centres will be involved in COVID vaccination. The detailed list of vaccination centres has been made available on the KMC website at www.kmcgov.in address.
The announcement comes after the central government recently announced that COVID booster doses will be given free of cost for 75 days from 15 July to celebrate India’s 75 years of independence. The decision had also drawn criticism from CPM state secretary Md Salim, who said that vaccines should anyway be provided to all, free of cost, by the government. “Vaccine is people’s right and the government’s responsibility,” he said.
The KMC mayor, Firhad Hakim recently asked people to be on their guard and take protection against the new wave of coronavirus. He, however, advised that people must not panic but follow Covid-19 protocols. The mayor had also said that KMC is waiting for state government notification to begin vaccination for children below 12 year olds.