Ina bid to speed up the pace of the coronavirus vaccination drive, Union HealthMinister Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday announced that citizens will now be able totake vaccine round the clock as per their convenience.
Theminister took to microblogging website Twitter and said: "The governmenthas ended the time constraint to increase the speed of vaccination. Citizens ofthe country can now get vaccinated 24x7 at their convenience."
Heemphasized that Prime Minister Narendra Modi understands the health of citizensof the country as well as the value of their time. Vardhan and his wife tookthe vaccine shot at Delhi Heart and Lung Institute on Tuesday.
Theannouncement comes a day after Centre directed all the states and unionterritories to utilize all private hospitals - empaneled under governmentinsurance schemes in full capacity to achieve optimum number of vaccinations.
Thenation-wide vaccination drive was rolled out on January 16 with healthcareworkers being inoculated against the virus. Vaccination of the frontlineworkers began on February 2.
Thenext phase of vaccination commenced on March 1 for those who are over 60 yearsof age and for people aged 45 and above with specified co-morbid conditions. Atotal of 1,56,20,749 vaccine doses have been given till now.