81% New COVID Cases In Punjab +ve For UK Strain, Vaccine Ambit Must Widen: CM
Mumbai: Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh has urged the Centre to widen its COVID-19 vaccination drive to include people younger than 60 years of age.
He stated that 81% of the latest 401 samples sent by Punjab for genome sequencing were positive for the new UK COVID-19 variant.
Singh said that the process needs to be expedited, pointing that experts have found the existing Covishield vaccine to be equally effective against the UK variant – B.1.1.7. “It was essential to vaccinate more and more people to break the chain of transmission,” he said, according to a statement released by his office.
Also Read: All Above The Age Of 45 To Be Vaccinated From April 1, Says Javadekar
According to Punjab CM’s media advisor Raveen Thukral, Captain Singh has now urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to extend COVID-19 vaccination coverage to people under 60 years of age.
It is learned that the Punjab government sent 401 samples for genome sequencing. Of these, 81 per cent were found in UK COVID-19 variants.
The CM of Punjab has stressed that there is an urgent need for the Central Government to open vaccination campaigns for a large section of the population, especially young people. He has also asked the eligible people to get themselves vaccinated and appealed to all the people of the state to strictly follow the COVID-19 security protocol.
Warning against the loosening of the people, the CM said that his government had already announced new restrictions and would be forced to impose further sanctions if people do not follow the proper behaviour of COVID-19.
It may be noted that Punjab has been witnessing ups and downs in COVID-19 cases for the past few weeks.
A release issued by the Punjab government pointed out: “It is noteworthy that the B.1.1.7 variant is now spreading rapidly in many parts of the world, representing 98% of the new cases in the UK and 90% in Spain. UK authorities have suggested it is up to 70% more transmissible than the original virus.”
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