Mandaviya visits households in UP village to push for Covid vaccination

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday visited some households in Natkur village in Lucknow under the 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign and motivated the villagers to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

He also inspected a COVID-19 vaccination centre in Natkur village in Sarojini Nagar in the Uttar Pradesh capital and met health workers there and congratulated them for successfully running the inoculation drive, the minister said on Twitter.

The government recently has launched the month-long 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign for house-to-house COVID-19 vaccination of those who are yet to take a dose and those whose second dose is overdue.

Noting that more than 12 crore beneficiaries are due for their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Mandaviya on Thursday urged the health ministers of states and union territories to ensure that the entire adult population is covered with the first dose during the ongoing 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign and those who are due for the second doses are motivated to take it.

The Union Health Ministry has also written to several states and UTs asking them to prioritise administering the second dose to beneficiaries who have not got themselves jabbed even after the expiry of the prescribed interval between the two doses, official sources said.

According to ministry officials, 80 per cent of India's eligible population has been administered the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, while 39 per cent have received both the shots.