Lowering age to 18 years for vaccination is decisive step to restore confidence: Assocham

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New Delhi: The government’s decision to open up vaccination against the coronavirus for everyone above the age of 18 years from May 1 would give a much- needed confidence to people, who have been going through challenging times, industry body Assocham said on Tuesday.

Speedier the vaccination and reduction in COVID 19 cases, faster would be economic recovery and safeguarding of livelihood concerns, the chamber said in a statement. It also said that the decision to expedite approval to more vaccine candidates would prove to be a decisive measure for wider and faster coverage of vaccination.

“Lowering the vaccination age to 18 years would give much- needed confidence to our people who have been going through challenging times,” it added.

Lindsay Bernard Rodrigues, Co-Founder and Director of Bennet & Bernard Group, which is into luxury holiday homes in Goa, said the government’s decision to open vaccination for all people above 18 years is welcome as it would help all migrant workers to get vaccinated and help stop another mass exodus of migrants, who are the backbone of the economy.

He said it will go a long way in ensuring a safe and secure working environment as this will enable developers to vaccinate construction workers and will also help in enhancing their confidence, especially considering other strict safety measures and amenities undertaken at the sites.

Confederation of All India Traders (CAT) has urged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, to issue a white paper on the critical issue of corona cases in Delhi.

“The white paper should also state what is the government’s forward-looking strategy to deal with the corona in Delhi and whether the government is able to deal with the corona itself or it needs any support from the public, traders or organisations of residential colonies and if so, what has the government planned for it,” it said.

It claimed that the situation on the ground is certainly “very horrible” that hospitals do not have beds, oxygen is not available, ventilators are not available, medicines are not available, COVID testing is not being done easily, people in Delhi are trialing and no one is there to listen to their woes and sufferings.