Open vaccination for people above 25 years: Thackeray to PM Modi

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow people above 25 years of age to receive COVID-19 shots, which he said will protect the young people from the rapid spread of coronavirus at a time when they are stepping outside their homes to earn a livelihood.

In a letter to the PM, Thackeray also demanded that Maharashtra be provided 1.5 crore additional doses of COVID-19 vaccines, which will enable the state government to complete within three weeks the vaccination of the beneficiaries above 45 years of age in six districts, including Mumbai, reporting a large number of cases.

Thackeray also apprised the prime minister of the steps being taken by his government to break the transmission chain of the viral infection, said a statement issued by the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

Thackeray wrote that the young generation is also getting infected by the virus, and to prevent the spread, people above 25 years be made eligible for vaccination.

The CM stressed the younger people have to travel in public to earn their livelihood.

The CMO said PM Modi had accepted Thackeray's earlier suggestion to allow people above 45 years of age to get vaccinated.

The chief minister told the PM that his government was transparently handling the pandemic and expanded the vaccination drive, it said.

OnApril 3, 4.62 lakh people were vaccinated in Maharashtra, where 76.86 lakh people have received the jabs so far.

"The Centre should provide 1.5 crore additional doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Maharashtra. We will take three weeks to administer the vaccine to age group above 45 years in six districts of Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik, Aurangabad, Nagpur where the spike of cases is the highest," the letter stated.