HYDERABAD: The Telangana state government will start administering free booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines from Friday, health minister T. Harish Rao said on Thursday.
He said all arrangements have been made to administer the free booster doses to everyone over the age of 18 years in the state, provided those seeking this dose have completed six months after receiving their second dose of the vaccine.
Harish Rao said the free booster doses will be administered at all Primary Health Care centres, in junior, degree, engineering colleges and universities, at the Nampally, Secunderabad, Kazipet railway stations, along with Mahatma Gandhi and Jubilee Bus stations in the city. He also said vaccination drives will be held in housing societies, offices, industries and factories and other work places as per requests received.
Anyone seeking these doorstep vaccination services for groups of 100 or more people, can contact 040-24651119, the minister said.
Harish Rao recalled the efforts made by the Telangana state government, which under directions from Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao, pursued with the Central government the issue of providing free booster doses. With Covid-19 cases showing an upward trend in many states, Harish Rao said Telangana state explained to the Centre the importance of providing booster doses for all, and the Centre’s decision comes as a great help not just for Telangana state but for the entire country.
Expressing happiness over the efforts paying off with the Centre announcing the free booster doses, Harish Rao said the Centre had previously allowed private vaccine providers to administer booster doses but not government facilities which excluded a large number of people from receiving this benefit.
