Bengaluru: Apollo Hospitals launches vaccination for 18 to 40 yrs age group

Bengaluru: The Apollo Hospitals on Saturday began vaccinating individuals between the ages of 18 to 44 years at its Bannerghata branch. From May 2 onwards, Apollo's all three branches will roll out the vaccination drive. Realizing the criticality of vaccinating the citizens to mitigate the impact of the second wave of COVID infections, Apollo Hospitals has taken the initiative and made arrangements to procure the vaccines directly from the manufacturers.

Apollo Hospitals will be among the first in India to begin COVID vaccinations in the third phase after the Central government's opening up vaccinations to all citizens above the age of 18. "As per the government guidelines, the vaccines will be administered to eligible individuals who have registered on the CoWIN app and have made an appointment for the jab at Apollo Hospitals.

The vaccination program will begin with limited quantities and be ramped up in the weeks ahead. It will also be organizing special camps for corporates. The vaccines would be priced as per the guidelines issued by the Central government," the statement issued by the hospital read. Shobana Kamineni, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Group said, "The second wave has come like a tsunami with an exponential rise in the number of cases.

The government's decision to open up the vaccination program and permit private hospitals to procure vaccines directly from the manufacturers is a much-required step to counter the COVID-19 threat. The success of the government and private sector working together in the area of testing for COVID-19 played a major role in the country's success in controlling the spread of the vaccine last year.

Similarly, this step will empower the private sector to use their extensive experience in supporting vaccination programs through the years, giving a major boost to the pace of vaccination and putting the vaccination program on the fast track as we move forward to vaccinate our large population.

The second wave of infections has seen younger patients getting affected and vaccinating everyone above the age of 18 will help in stopping the relentless rise in COVID cases and bring a COVID-free future closer to reality."