Covid-19: Uttar Pradesh government plans drive to vaccinate all beneficiaries above 45 years

LUCKNOW: In a massive house-to-house survey undertaken by the Uttar Pradesh government, it has been found that over 65 lakh persons in the 45 years plus age group have not taken even their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
This is about 13% of the total estimated target of 4.79 crore for the age group.
This is crucial considering that people in this category have been described as ‘vulnerable’ as more than 85% of the Covid-19 deaths took place in this age bracket.
The findings were placed before chief minister Yogi Adityanath recently during the daily Covid-19 review who, sources said, directed health officials to take measures and get them vaccinated at the earliest.
Alarmed over the situation, the state task force on Covid-19 vaccination has drafted the strategy to vaccinate the people through a dedicated sub-campaign at the earliest.
“The line-listing of these people is done. The data obtained has been uploaded and merged with the CoWin portal. A mobilisation strategy is set for launch while the training for the same is underway,” sources said adding that district immunisation officers and support staff were briefed on Wednesday evening in this regard.
Insiders revealed that the campaign strategy banks on cluster approach in which the target will be broken into small segments to simplify persuasion.
The district Covid-19 control and command centres have also been asked to call up the persons and remind them of their due dose besides informing them about the risks of not getting vaccinated.
Random follow up calls will also be made from the CM Helpline.
Health officials believe that the goal will be achieved in a seven-day dedicated campaign.
Meanwhile, the survey indicated that the number of unvaccinated 45 years plus persons was maximum in Saharanpur (2.25 lakh) while it was lowest in Gorakhpur (7,573).
In all, 28 districts had more than one lakh unvaccinated persons in the category, including Saharanpur (2.25 lakh), Sultanpur (2.14 lakh), Agra (2.10 lakh) and Prayagraj (2.05 lakh) where the number of such persons was more than two lakh.
Also, in six districts, the number of such persons was more than 1.5 lakh.