Shiv Sena MP demands clear guidelines on COVID booster dose for those under 60

Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday asked the government to come out with clear guidelines for booster doses for those under 60 and said several countries are imposing strict conditions for foreign travellers.

Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Chaturvedi said several countries want that the second shot of the Covid vaccine should have been taken within a certain time frame, failing which the vaccination certificate will not be considered valid.

In many European countries, she said, vaccines are considered valid only for 270 days. If travellers got their last vaccine shot in April 2021, they cannot enter many EU countries without a valid Covid test.

"Hence, Indians finally looking forward to travelling abroad are now left in a lurch due to the absence of clear guidelines regarding the need for the third additional dose to travel abroad. The present situation regarding the travel and vaccination causes of perplexing situation for Indians," she said.

India now has a surplus of vaccines yet there is no clear guideline to vaccinate people below 60 years for those who are seeking a booster dose for travel purposes or for safety purposes, the Rajya Sabha MP said.

Chaturvedi urged the Health minister to come up with clear guidelines for vaccination or booster doses for those below 60 years of age.

In her Zero Hour mention, Fauzia Khan (NCP) said based on the India early childhood education impact study, children's participation in preschool and early primary grades is unstable. It doesn't necessarily follow the linear age based trajectory under the Right to Education Act 2009 and the 'National early childhood care and education policy 2013'.

According to her, the latest Central Teacher Eligibility Test results show that only 33 per cent of the 1.27 million candidates who appeared for the exam for primary education teaching could qualify.

The NCP member said given that a very large percentage of cognitive development takes place between zero to three years of age, pre-primary education should be made an important part of the Right to Education Act.

She also stressed that a special board must be set up to sincerely monitor quality standards and outcomes in early childhood education systems.

Raising the issue of unemployment in the country, V Sivadasan of the CPI (M) said public sector companies are not recruiting properly. In December 2021, he said India had 53 million unemployed people.

He said privatization of public sector institutions will worsen the situation and suggested that the government should change labour and industrial policies.

The House proceedings were adjourned briefly till 12 noon as all the listed Zero Hour and special mentions for the morning session were taken up.