Centre to launch 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign next month to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination

Representational Image (Credits: PTI)

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Wednesday (October 27, 2021) said that the Centre will soon start a mega COVID-19 vaccination campaign `Har Ghar Dastak` in poor-performing districts aiming to achieve full vaccination by the end of November. 

"We are going to launch a mega vaccination campaign `Har Ghar Dastak`. We have decided that for the next one month, healthcare workers will go door-to-door to vaccinate people eligible for the second dose and also those who have not taken the first dose," the Union Health Minister said. 

He also chaired a national review meeting on Wednesday with health ministers of states and UTs. The officials in the meeting discussed the scaling up of the COVID-19 vaccination drive in the country.

Union Health Minister, while addressing the media yesterday also revealed that 77 percent of the eligible population in India has been vaccinated against COVID with the first dose while 32 percent people have received both doses. 

"More than 10 crores people have not taken the second dose of vaccine. People who are eligible for the second dose should take the vaccine," he added.

Mandaviya also said that there are more than 10.34 crore people in the country who have not taken the second dose after the prescribed interval.

Mandaviya added that adequate vaccine doses were available in the country, and more than 12 crore balance unutilised doses are available with the States for administering. 

"No district should be without full vaccination", he exhorted the States. He further added, "Let us aim to cover all eligible with 1st dose of COVID-19 vaccine by end-November 2021."

Additionally, the Union Health Minister urged the State and UTs to make regional and local level plans with all the stakeholders to reduce the number of people with vaccination overdue. Mandaviya also urged for innovative strategies to encourage them to achieve their targets to review the planning and execution of district-wise plans for coverage of due beneficiaries of the second dose as available on the Co-WIN portal.

The national review meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar, State Health Ministers Alo Libang (Arunachal Pradesh), Keshab Mahanta (Assam), Mangal Pandey (Bihar), T S Singhdeo (Chhattisgarh), Satyendra Jain (Delhi) Rushikesh Patel (Gujarat), Dr Narrotam Mishra (Home Minister Madhya Pradesh), Dr Mani Kumar Sharma (Sikkim), M A Subramanian (Tamil Nadu), Jai Pratap Singh (Uttar Pradesh), Dhan Singh Rawat (Uttarakhand), Dr Subhash Garg (Rajasthan) and Banna Gupta (Jharkhand). Other members present at the meeting included state officials along with Mission Directors (NHM) from various states.

Mandaviya highlighted the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi guiding the recently launched PM Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-BHIM). 

"COVID has given us the opportunity to analyse the gaps in our existing health infrastructure. We have also learned that in a federal democracy, the Centre and States working in a synchronized collaborative model can achieve significant milestones". 

The Union Health Minister informed that with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore, PM-AB HIM, announced in the Budget 2021-22, is the largest pan-India Health Infrastructure Scheme and would provide a much-needed fillip to India`s capacity to address emergent Public Health issues.

This will give a major boost to India`s healthcare infrastructure and make it more resilient, he added. 

"India supplied essential drugs to the world during the first wave of COVID. The world reciprocated and helped India during the second wave", he stated. 

Praising the efforts of Indian scientists and researchers, he said that there is no dearth of brain and manpower in India. 

"India is rightly called `pharmacy of the world` due to its quality drugs. It is a matter of immense pride for India that we have manufactured the COVID vaccine and also administered 100 Cr doses in a short span since 16th Jan 2021", he stated.

(With ANI inputs)