Assembly Election 2022: EC urges 5 poll-bound states to ‘accelerate’ vaccination

New Delhi, Jan 03: Amid concern over rising Omicron cases ahead of assembly elections, the election commission of India has written to chief secretaries of five poll-bound states asking them to 'accelerate' the pace of Covid-19 vaccination.

The poll body has also expressed concerns over low percentage of first dose inoculation in Manipur, reports news agency ANI, citing sources.

While Uttarakhand and Goa have reported vaccination coverage for the first and second doses higher than the national average, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Manipur have COVID19 vaccination coverage numbers below the national average.

Earlier, the Union Health Ministry had issued a statement, saying the Centre has reviewed public health response measures and vaccination status with the poll-bound states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur. The ministry has advised ramping up vaccination of all eligible population through a district-wise weekly plan with daily review, according to the statement.

The States were advised to speedily ramp up the COVID19 vaccination of all eligible population for the first dose and ensure that those who were due for the second dose are administered the second dose. District-wise weekly vaccination implementation plans are required to be drawn up for this purpose. The state authorities were advised to review the implementation status on a daily basis.

The poll-bound states were also advised to exponentially increase the testing to ensure that the infected cases are identified promptly for timely initiation of public health response measures, and to ensure that there is no sudden upsurge in numbers due to low testing.

The state authorities were strongly advised to ensure that recommended COVID Appropriate Behavior is strictly followed and adequate measures are undertaken for their effective enforcement.