Udupi Deputy Commissioner M. Kurma Rao on Wednesday directed healthcare workers to visit every household in the district and coax eligible people who have not yet taken the COVID-19 vaccination to obtain one.
Chairing the district task force meeting on vaccination at the district office in Rajatadri, Manipal, Mr. Rao said vaccination was the only weapon to fight the pandemic and hence everyone should get vaccinated.
The DC said the district has 2,95,375 households and healthcare workers, including ASHAs and Anganwadi volunteers, should visit every household.
They should convince those who have not undergone vaccination to get vaccinated and create awareness about the benefits of vaccination. During the door-to-door visit, the healthcare workers should obtain all details of the residents and their contact phone numbers.
The DC said households in at least seven gram panchayats of every taluk should be surveyed twice. Respective tahsildars, taluk panchayat executive officers, and taluk health officers should lead the survey. The workers may obtain details of eligible persons from the electoral rolls, he suggested.
Vaccination drive would be conducted in the district till this month-end, Mr. Rao said, urging concerned citizens as well as community leaders to prevail upon those who have not been vaccinated to get inoculated. While every department concerned should work in coordination for the drive, focus should be given to vaccinate nomads and immigrants too.
Zilla panchayat CEO Y. Naveen Bhat announced that a school where parents of all students get fully vaccinated would be given an award and urged the Education Department to create vaccination awareness among parents through a letter campaign. Pregnant and lactating women and people suffering from ailments appear to have refused to get vaccinated in rural areas. They should be properly educated informing them there would be no adverse effect of vaccination, Dr. Bhat said.
Additional DC B. Sadashiva Prabhu, District Health and Family Welfare Officer Nagabhushana Udupa, COVID-19 vaccination nodal officer Rama, and other officials were present.
