UP Government announces free vaccine for all above 18 years from May 1

The Uttar Pradesh Government on April 20, 2021, announced that it has decided to vaccinate free of cost to all those above the age of 18 years from May 1, 2021.

The decision was taken at a State Cabinet meeting which was chaired by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. The Cabinet also thanked PM Modi for permitting the administering of the vaccine to all those above the age of 18 years.

As per the official statement by Chief Minister, Prime Minister’s decision will help in the better management of Coronavirus, and the massive vaccination drive will help in defeating the virus. UP Government has decided to vaccinate free of cost all those who are above 18 years. The Government will be taking forward the vaccination program with its own resources.

प्यारे प्रदेशवासियों,

आज मंत्रिपरिषद की बैठक में यह निर्णय लिया गया है कि उत्तर प्रदेश में 18 वर्ष से अधिक आयु के सभी प्रदेशवासियों का कोरोना टीकाकरण @UPGovt द्वारा निःशुल्क कराया जाएगा।

कोरोना हारेगा, भारत जीतेगा...

— Yogi Adityanath (@myogiadityanath) April 20, 2021

Key Highlights:

•  In the meeting, a detailed discussion was also held over the current Coronavirus situation in the UP. The Chief Minister also stated that the government has been working hard to save lives and livelihood.

•  The CM has asked the Health Department of the state to formulate an action plan in order to conduct a COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the state on a large scale.

•  He has asked to increase the vaccination centres and also create a database of the people in the target age group.

•  During the deliberations, the Chief Ministers asked all the ministers to monitor the status of the COVID-19 treatment in districts.

•  He directed the officials to take care of the migrants returning from other states and to keep them at quarantine centres.

COVID-19 cases in UP:

On April 20, 2021, the death toll from Coronavirus in the state crossed the 10,000 mark with 162 more fatalities, which the infection tally in UP has exceeded nine lakh after the detection of 29,754 fresh cases.

So far, COVID-19 has claimed 10,159 lives in UP. The state has reported 9,09,405 infections since the outbreak of the virus in the year 2020.

Background:

The decision of the UP Government of vaccination all above 18 years free of cost has come in the wake of a major decision by the Central Government.

On April 19, 2021, the Government of India had opened the vaccination for all above the age of 18 years from May 1, 2021, under the third phase of vaccination drive as the country has seen a sudden spike in fresh cases in the past month.