Andhra Pradesh says no vaccine for under 45 till September

Naveen S Garewal 
Tribune News Service 
Hyderabad, April 30

Andhra Pradesh has said it could not spare vaccines for people under 45 until September. State Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy has said all those between 18 and 45 years will have to wait and cannot be vaccinated on May 1.

“This can only be expected to start in September, once the vaccination for people above 45 years is completed,” he said.

Making this announcement of a time frame, the chief minister said. “It will take four months to complete the vaccination for people in the age group of 18-45, which means they will be vaccinated by the end of January 2022”.

He however warned the people of the state to be extra cautious as the second wave of the pandemic was likely to continue beyond February 2022, despite all the actions taken by the government to prevent the spread.

The Union Government has announced vaccination for beneficiaries between the age group of 18-45 years to begin from May 1. While many states have expressed fears about whether this can be done in a timely manner, due to shortage of vaccine supply, Jagan is the first chief minister who has spoken about the expected delay and the possible timeline.