Maharashtra welcomes PM's decision to administer booster

Maharashtra has welcomed the Centre’s decision to administer Covid-19 vaccines to children and “precaution dose” to healthcare and frontline workers as well as people above the age of 60 with comorbidities. Health minister Rajesh Tope on Sunday said those shots are a “need of the hour”, especially amid concerns over the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, considered more transmissible than the previous strains responsible for the earlier waves of the pandemic in the country.

"PM Modi has fulfilled the demand of booster dose and Covid-19 vaccines for children. We demanded that children should be vaccinated for keeping them safe as schools are reopening," he added. The recent announcement came amid widespread concerns over a third wave of the coronavirus pandemic which, experts fear, will be sparked by the Omicron variant. India’s tally of Omicron cases has already surpassed 400 and Maharashtra has the most number of such infections.