MUMBAI: PM Narendra Modi on Wednesday stressed on vaccinating every citizen by going door to door, and specially mentioned the need to fully inoculate all those associated with the tourism sector in Aurangabad, the base for visiting the Unesco heritage sites of Ajanta-Ellora.
Modi was interacting with CMs, collectors of over 40 districts in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya and other states with low vaccination coverage. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya and his junior Dr Bharati Pawar were also present.
Just a day earlier, CM Uddhav Thackeray had set November 30 as the deadline for vaccination of all residents of the state with one dose.
The PM called for developing “micro strategies keeping in mind the experience so far to go for saturation vaccination by addressing the gaps at the local level”.
Collectors listed out challenges they faced such as rumours resulting in vaccine hesitancy, difficult terrain, and challenges created due to prevailing weather conditions in recent months.
Modi said vaccine hesitancy could be tackled by maximising community engagement through religious and community leaders. He urged health workers to knock on every door, ‘Har Ghar Dastak’, to ensure double vaccination and to reach every house, ‘Har Ghar Tika, Ghar Ghar Tika’.
Aurangabad collector Sunil Chavan made a presentation, saying clerics and religious leaders of various faiths had been invited to participate in the ‘Mann Mein Hai Vishwas’ campaign launched by the state government. He said as an incentive, special funds would be provided to the first 25 villages in the district that achieve 100% vaccination.
