New Delhi: Ludhiana became the first city in India on Monday to extend COVID-19 vaccination to the people beyond the priority group listed by the central government.

In a decision taken on Monday, the district administration of Ludhiana permitted ongoing vaccination drive to all the employees of all government/private banks, government/private schools, staff of food grain agencies, judicial officers/court staff/advocates, journalists, members of the NGOs who have worked to check spread of the infection. The decision has also been given a nod from the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, officials claimed.

The aforementioned will be listed as frontline workers, they added.

“The decision is taken in the larger public interest to ensure the safety of the wider population from the Covid pandemic. They all have worked tirelessly during the pandemic and have discharged their duties as frontline workers either online or offline modes,” said Deputy Commissioner Varinder Kumar Singh.

So far, the union government has allowed vaccination against Covid-19 only to healthcare workers, frontline workers, people aged above 60 and those between 45-69 years of age with comorbid conditions.

The vaccination with the first phase was introduced on January 16 for 1 crore healthcare professionals. It was extended to around 3 crore frontline workers in last month. The central government had included police, civil defence, home guards, paramilitary personnel, municipal workers, disaster management professionals, fire safety personnel and prison staffers in the list of frontline workers.

Since March 1, the drive is opened to the senior citizens and those above 45 with comorbidities. The government had allowed 20 underlying health condition to avail the COVID-19 vaccines for those falling in age priority group between 45 and 59.

India also crossed an important milestone in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday by administering the vaccine to over 3.17 crore so far.

(With inputs from IANS)