Journalists working in Goa will be designated as frontline workers and will be vaccinated against Covid-19 soon, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said today.
“We have decided to vaccinate journalists and we will complete the procedure as fast as possible,” Sawant also said.
The decision by the Goa government follows a go-ahead by other states like West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Odisha, and Karnataka to vaccinate journalists against COVID-19.
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Yesterday, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) President and the Chief Minister in-waiting, M.K. Stalin, said media personnel will be considered as frontline workers and the necessary benefits will be extended to them.
In a statement, Stalin said the media is an essential part of democracy and it is fulfilling its duty of reaching out with the news to the people.
Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh made a similar announcement on May 3.
We are thankful to media persons who are working tirelessly in these difficult times to keep us updated. We’ve decided to include all accredited and yellow card holder journalists as frontline warriors for #Covid19 vaccination. Please continue with the good work and stay safe.
— Capt.Amarinder Singh (@capt_amarinder) May 3, 2021
Power employees, along with the journalists, will now be eligible for all the benefits that the frontline workers are entitled to, including priority vaccination, the Chief Minister said at a high-level Covid review meeting.
Journalists have been taking grave risks in covering the pandemic from the ground and helping to spread awareness about the virus for the past more than a year, the Chief Minister said.
They need to be protected, he said, adding that though many states had raised the demand for their inclusion in the frontline workers category, the Government of India has not responded so far.
The Punjab government, therefore, decided to provide frontline protection to the journalists and also power corporation employees, who are also endangering their lives while maintaining critical power services in hospitals and other vital institutions.
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