New Delhi: Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya said the government is going to launch a mega vaccination campaign next month against the coronavirus disease. As part of the ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ drive, healthcare workers will conduct door-to-door vaccinations of people eligible for a second dose as well as those who are yet to be administered their first jab, the health minister said. He added that special focus will be laid during the drive on 48 districts across the country where less than 50% of the eligible population has been vaccinated against Covid-19.
Mandaviya made the announcement after holding a meeting with his counterparts and representatives from states and Union Territories to scale up the vaccination drive in the country. He further said 77% eligible population in India has been vaccinated against Covid-19 with the first dose, while another 32% have been fully inoculated. However, more than 10 crore people have not yet taken the second dose of the vaccine, the health minister said, while urging them to go ahead with completing their course.
According to government data, over 3.92 crore beneficiaries are more than 6 weeks overdue for their second dose, around 1.57 crore are up to 4-6 weeks late, and more than 1.50 crore are up to 2-4 weeks overdue for their second shot of either Covishield or Covaxin. The 11 states and UTs that completed administering both doses to more than half of their eligible beneficiaries are Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Goa, Ladakh, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Daman and Diu, Arunachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir.