Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Jan 21: With corona warriors getting vaccinated against coronavirus in the first phase, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief ministers of different states are likely to get vaccinated in the second round, sources said. PM Modi in a meeting with chief ministers stated that the turn of other politicians, who are above 50, will come in the next phase.

After healthcare and frontline workers such as police, armed forces and municipal workers, the third category to be vaccinated is likely to be people over the age of 50, followed by those who are below 50 but suffer from co-morbidities.

Earlier in November last year, the Prime Minister had a discussion with the state leaders over the tentative prioritisation for vaccination of categories of people. The same has been communicated to state governments, said people familiar with the development, a report by Economic Times stated.

A 50-year plus grouping appears to be an expansion of the earlier category that was under discussion. So far, the government officials had been saying this category would comprise 'senior citizens' and the 'elderly', and it was expected that this group would consist of people over the age of 65.

"In India, co-morbidities like hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart diseases occur much earlier than in western populations. So, prioritising the 50 plus population is the right approach," Public Health Foundation of India president K Srinath Reddy was quoted as saying.