Give priority to second dose, Centre tells States

New Delhi: The Centre appealed to States on Tuesday to prioritise vaccinating those due for second dose of Covid-19 vaccine and reserve at least 70 per cent of the shots supplied from the central pool for the purpose. States have also been urged to minimise wastage of vaccine doses, the health ministry said in a statement. All wastage more than the national average hereafter is to be adjusted from the subsequent allocations to that state or union territory. The urgent need to address a large number of beneficiaries waiting for second dose of vaccine was stressed in a meeting held by Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan and Dr R S Sharma, the Chairman of Empowered Group on Technology and Data Management to Combat COVID-19, with state officials to review the status of COVID-19 vaccination on Tuesday.