In a last-ditch effort towards protecting its entire population with at least one dose of vaccine against COVID-19, the Puducherry government on Monday will launch a one-day campaign across 100 session sites across the Union Territory.
For the first time, NGOs, SHGs, educational institutions and private players will participate in this campaign, which will run from 8 am to 8 pm. The target is to reach at least one lakh people. “We have an estimated three lakh people who have not received a single dose yet and we expect to reach a third of them,” Health Secretary T. Arun said.
Lieutenant Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan and Chief Minister N Rangasamy issued a personal appeal in an awareness video before the campaign tag-line “I have been vaccinated; Do you?”.
On Sunday, Ms. Sundararajan chaired a high-level meeting with officials at the Raj Niwas to finalize the strategy ahead of the vaccination festival. An intensive immunization effort has been designed to ensure that the entire target population of 10 lakh is covered with at least one dose before Diwali.
Till Sunday, the Union Territory has given just over 11 lakh doses, including 3.82 lakh second doses.
The health department has mapped families of unvaccinated populations, and volunteers will go door-to-door to persuade them to get vaccinated. “We have enough stock to deliver one lakh doses. In fact, since the introduction of vaccination, we have maintained a strong supply chain,” said Mr. Arun.
Health officials are reaching out to people with a mix of reassurance about vaccine safety and hard data showing that unvaccinated people account for an estimated 97% of admissions to an intensive care unit for COVID-19.
Having recently crossed the milestone of delivering one billion doses, they are hoping to capitalize on the celebratory mood across the country.
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