India on Friday launched a drive to provide free booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines to all adults.
The programme, part of a series of events spearheaded by the government to celebrate 75 years of independence from British rule, will run for the next 75 days, Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said.
The campaign comes at a time when the country is witnessing a surge of coronavirus infections.
India logged more than 20,000 new cases and as many as 47 deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the tally of those infected to more than 43 million and the number of deaths to 526,000.
The doses, to be offered to the 18-59 age group at government-run vaccination centres until September 30, are aimed at increasing the uptake of a precautionary vaccine, the Health Ministry said.
Free doses until now were only offered to those aged 60 and older.
India’s vaccination coverage exceeded 1.99 billion on Friday.
More than 96 per cent of its adult population has had a first dose and 87 per cent have had two.
But less than 8 per cent of the target population of 770 million in the 18-59 age group have been administered the booster shot.
The country’s active caseload stands at nearly 140,000, the Health Ministry says.
How being social media savvy can improve your well being
Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.
As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.
Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.
Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.
Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.
However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.
“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.
People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.
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The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory