A signed medical certificate, attesting to the severity of the illness, will be required of people who are over 45 & looking to get COVID-19 vaccination in the second phase, reports suggest. On February 24, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the second phase of vaccination would begin from March 1, with priority for those over 60 & those over 45 with co-morbidities. He said around 27 crore people would be vaccinated in this stage, of whom around 10 crore are over 60.
List of what constitutes a co-morbidity will be finalised & released in two days, but may include chronic diseases of the heart, lung, kidney & liver, as well as diabetes, cancer, severe asthma & mental or learning disabilities, reported NDTV. In privately-run vaccination centres the price of the shot is likely to be capped at around Rs 300, reported NDTV. Javadekar said the shots would be free at government centres. There were 1.47 lakh active COVID-19 cases in India as of February 24, with 13,742 new cases reported in the past 24 hours. Maharashtra and Kerala are worst-affected, with over 50,000 active cases in each.