India began a Covid-19 booster shot campaign for frontline workers and vulnerable people aged 60 and above on Monday as authorities grapple with a rapidly escalating outbreak driven by the Omicron variant, IgbereTV reports.
Daily case numbers are approaching the enormous figures seen last year, when thousands died each day and workers maintained round-the-clock funeral pyres for the mass cremation of virus victims.
Nearly 180,000 new infections were recorded overnight, up nearly six times from a week earlier, with several urban centres imposing night-time curfews and restrictions on public gatherings.
“We’ve seen the number of cases increasing,” said Sheetal Vaishnav, a doctor helping oversee Monday’s vaccinations at a clinic in the capital New Delhi.
“It’s necessary that we start protecting our population more
