Karnataka aims to vaccinate every citizen in state by end of the year

Karnataka aims to vaccinate every eligible citizen by the end of December and make the state free from COVID-19, said Health and Medical Education Minister Dr K Sudhakar.

He was speaking at an event organised on the occasion of International Yoga Day at Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical College, wherein Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa flagged off the Laiksa Maha Abhiyana.

"PM Narendra Modi has suggested to organise an accelerated vaccination drive to mark the Yoga Day. Today we have set a target to inoculate about 7 lakh people in a single day. Our aim is to vaccinate every eligible citizen by the end of December and make the state free from COVID-19," Sudhakar said.

He informed that over 1.86 crore COVID vaccine doses have been administered so far in 13,000 vaccination centres across the state.

"We have a stock of about 15 lakh doses of Covishield and 6-7 lakh doses of Covaxin in the state. More than 1.86 crore doses have been administered so far in 13,000 vaccination centres across the state. Even if we achieve 70-80 doses per centre we will meet our target. Active participation from citizens is crucial for the success of the vaccination drive," he said.

Stating that awareness about the importance of vaccines has increased in the state now, he recalled that initially people were hesitant but gradually the hesitancy has come down. "People have now realised that vaccines are the best way to protect ourselves from the virus," the minister said.

He further stated that the state government is not hiding any data as the Central government itself has praised Karnataka for its transparency.