Chief Minister Pema Khandu has set an ambitious target of cent percent first-dose Covid-19 vaccination coverage by mid-August, based on headcount. Chairing a virtual e-Pragati meeting with the district administrations on Thursday, the CM emphasized on using headcount as the base for the vaccination drive, rather than using electoral rolls or population census. He called upon the district administrations and the health department to work towards achieving the target. Even though it is ambitious, the decision to work with a target is a welcome move. Across the world, it has been proven that vaccination effectively helps in the battle against Covid-19.
More importantly, vaccination drastically reduces the chances of hospitalization. In comparison to the rest of the country, the Covid-19 vaccination drive has been remarkably successful in the state. A large section of the population has received at least the first dose and many have received even the second dose. In a state like Arunachal, where the majority of the population live in rural areas, carrying out vaccination drives is never easy.
Some of the places are very remote and health workers have to trek for days to reach them. Also, to make matters worse, many people are reluctant to take vaccination due to various rumour-mongering. Considering all these factors, the efforts of the health department in carrying out a relatively successful vaccination drive should be appreciated.
Now they have been set a target to complete cent percent first-dose Covid-19 vaccination coverage by mid-August. Hopefully, they will achieve it. For this, cooperation of the people is very important. Everyone should come forward and get vaccinated.