Union Health Ministry has asked states and Union Territories to come up with district-level plan and launch a “Har Ghar Dastak” (Knock every door) campaign across poor performing districts.
Key Facts
- Central government has also asked states & union territories to set up the ante, in those areas where first & second dose vaccination coverage is below the national average.
- Har Ghar Dastak campaign will be initiated with the aim of scaling up the Covid-19 vaccination drive.
- Under the campaign, vaccine vans will be introduced, and exercise will be reviewed on daily basis.
Vaccine coverage
In India, currently 10.38 Crore people are due to get their second dose of vaccine from 17 states, as of October 27, 2021. More than 1.6 crore people are from Uttar Pradesh, 1.1 Crore from Madhya Pradesh, 76 lakhs in Maharashtra, 86 lakhs in Rajasthan, 60 lakhs in Tamil Nadu while 72 lakhs in Bihar are due for their second doses.
Cut-off for vaccine coverage
Central government has set-up a cut-off of 77% coverage for first dose while 33% cut off for second dose. These figures are also the national averages of respectively the first and second shot.
Other steps to boost vaccination
- Centre is preparing special initiative to sensitise people and tell them that covid-19 vaccine is the only protection against covid-19 disease.
- Centre might ask states to launch a special drive for vaccination.
States under focus
Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, and Uttar Pradesh are the states under focus because of low vaccination rate. For instance, In Bihar, vaccination coverage stands at 39% for first dose while 13% for second dose.