GUWAHATI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 71st birthday on Friday will see Assam getting a major thrust in the Covid-19 vaccination drive with 8 lakh shots being targeted to be administered on a single day.
Considering the huge demand for the second dose and also the pending first dose, the state health department has proposed to observe the mega vaccination day on September 17, which the government said is ‘incidentally the birthday of the Prime Minister’.
“We do have the potential capability to vaccinate up to 8 lakh people in a day, provided we make detailed micro-plan and efficiently execute the same in all the CVCs (Covid vaccination centres). With the active cooperation of the people, Assam has been steadfastly ensuring public safety from Covid through planned and coordinated vaccination campaigns,” said Lakshmanan S, Assam NHM director.
The health department officials said considering vaccine availability, Assam can vaccinate a maximum of 4.75 lakh beneficiaries in a single day but the health department has set an even bigger target. As of September 10, Assam has completed 1.97 crore vaccination, with 1.61 crore first dose and 36 lakh second dose.
During the last mega vaccination campaign from June 21 to 23, around 9.75 lakh people in Assam were vaccinated, most of whom are due for their second dose from September 14 onwards (84 days for Covishield). In order to achieve the target of 8 lakh, all districts have been asked to set up a minimum 4,000 CVCs across the state.
