There is no reason for vaccine hesitation, Arvind Kejriwal said (File)
Arvind Kejriwal today urged the centre to allow vaccination for all above 18 and claimed his government could inoculate all of Delhi in three months if this was allowed and eligibility restrictions were relaxed.
"Allow walk-in vaccinations at all centres for everybody. If all this is allowed and we get sufficient supply, then according to our plan, we will be able to vaccinate whole of Delhi in three months," the Chief Minister said after a meeting to discuss the surge in virus cases.
He said the Delhi government would write to the centre to relax vaccination parameters so that more centres could administer shots and for longer periods. Eligibility criteria for receiving vaccines was too "restrictive in terms of age groups", Mr Kejriwal said.
"There is no reason for hesitation. Me and my parents also got vaccinated. The centre has issued guidelines on vaccination but they are very restrictive. We have been vaccinating for over two months now. The vaccination system needs to open up. Apart from those below 18...everybody should be able to get vaccinated."
Mr Kejriwal also appealed to all those eligible in the current inoculation drives covering people above 60 and those over 45 with other illnesses to get their Covid shots.
"I appeal to everyone, who is eligible, to get themselves vaccinated. 30,000-40,000 vaccines are being administered per day as of now. We will increase this to 1.25 lakh vaccines per day. In the next few days, we are increasing our capacity," he said, adding that the hours would be increased to 9 pm.
The Chief Minister met with top ministers and officials a day after Delhi reported more than 500 coronavirus cases in a day for the first time in nearly two-and-a-half months, along with three deaths.
On Wednesday, the number of new cases in Delhi in 24 hours stood at 536, taking the total to over 6.45 lakh.