New Delhi: After the third wave, the coronavirus has not shown any serious effect in India. The credit for this is largely given to the corona vaccination. But for some time the pace of applying corona vaccines has slowed down. The government is worried about this. In view of this, now the government has decided to start the ‘Har Ghar Dastak 2.0’ program. This program will run for two months from June to July. During this, there will be an emphasis on applying the first, second, and precautionary doses among those who have been missed. Special attention will be given to vaccination in the elderly.
According to Deccan Herald, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan held a meeting with the officials of the states on Friday regarding the corona vaccination. In this, information was given about the program of applying the corona vaccine from house to house. This program will be implemented up to the district, block, and village levels. According to HT, the Health Secretary asked the officials to get involved in a mission mode to bring all eligible beneficiaries under full immunization coverage. Run campaigns especially for old age homes, schools, colleges, jails, brick kilns, etc. Make a list of out-of-school children in the age group of 12-18 years and get them vaccinated. Ensure that most people aged 60 and above get a booster dose.
In the statement, the Health Ministry also emphasized the need to avoid wastage of the corona vaccine, describing it as a precious national resource. It was said that Kovid-19 vaccines should not be wasted at any cost. Vaccines whose expiry date is near should be applied first. Travel documents should not be asked from those who wish to get a booster dose before traveling abroad.
This directive of the central government has come at a time when 11.84 crore senior citizens in the country have been fully vaccinated against corona. Out of this, a booster dose is yet to be given in 4.14 crores. Only 1.69 crore elderly people have got the precautionary dose.
The Deccan Herald quoted sources in the Ministry of Health as saying that the national average of precaution doses in the elderly in the country is around 41 percent. There are 26 states where immunization of the elderly is less than the national average. These include Kerala (40%), UP (38%), Bihar (38%), Tamil Nadu (37%), Telangana (36%), Maharashtra (33%). Nagaland is at the bottom of this list with 12 percent vaccination.
In addition, there are 19 states and union territories where second-dose vaccination in a population above 15 years is less than the national average of 86 percent. 23 states are behind the national average in applying the first dose. Talking about children of 12 to 14 years, there are 18 states where the figure for the first dose has not touched the national average. In this category, 17 states are behind the national average in terms of the second dose. In view of these figures, the government has decided to start the Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 program.
