Odisha To Prioritise Vaccinating 18-44 Year-Olds In Five Urban Centres With High Test Positivity Rate

Odisha Government has decided that the COVID-19 vaccination for the 18-44 years age group in the State will first be initiated only in five urban centres of Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Behrampur which have been registering a high test positivity rate (TPR), reports Hindustan Times.

Of the five urban centres, Rourkela has a TPR of over 50 per cent and Behrampur has a TPR of over 15 per cent. Meanwhile, Cuttack, Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur have a TPR of about 25 per cent.

As of now, the State has only been carrying out the vaccination of those in the age group of 18-44 years only in the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation area where a total of 42,660 people have received Covaxin shots since 1 May.

It should be noted that the State Government has already announced free of cost vaccination for all in the age group of 18-44 years at a proposed expenditure of Rs 2,000 crore.