Centre to launch 'Har Ghar Dastak' mega COVID-19 vaccine drive today

New Delhi, Nov 02: The central government will launch its mega COVID-19 'Har Ghar Dastak' campaign today on the occasion of Dhanwantari Diwas. The month-long door-to-door vaccination campaign aims to inculcate in poor performing districts to enthuse and motivate people towards full vaccination against the deadly infection.

"We are going to launch a mega vaccination campaign 'Har Ghar Dastak'. We have decided that for the next one month, healthcare workers will go door-to-door to vaccinate people eligible for the second dose and also those who have not taken the first dose," Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has informed after a review meeting last week.

"Har Ghar Dastak campaign to start soon in the poor performing districts to enthuse and motivate people towards full Covid vaccination. Let us aim to cover all eligible with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by end-November 2021," he said.

Around 48 districts have been identified where the first dose coverage among eligible beneficiaries is less than 50 per cent.

Highlighting the need to accelerate the pace and coverage of vaccination, he stated that there are more than 10.34 crore people in the country who have not taken the second dose after the expiry of the prescribed interval.

The health minister also said that adequate vaccine doses are available in the country, and more than 12 crore balance unulitised doses are available with the states/UTs for administering.

The state health ministers were requested to ensure continuous oversight on progress of the national COVID-19 vaccination programme.