Major vaccination drive to be launched in Lucknow’s rural areas from July 1

Initially, the Mal, Malihabad and Mohanlalganj development blocks of the Uttar Pradesh capital would be chosen for the vaccination campaign

The Lucknow district administration is set to launch a mega vaccination drive in the rural areas of the state capital from July 1, officials said. The campaign will be similar to the one underway in the urban areas here.

A major Covid vaccination campaign is already underway in the urban areas of Lucknow. (Deepak Gupta(HT File Photo)

“Vaccination is the only way to break the chain of the deadly virus. It’s for the same reason that after the mega vaccination drive in the urban areas, we are now planning a mega drive in the rural areas as well,” Lucknow district magistrate Abhishek Prakash said.

Initially, the Mal, Malihabad and Mohanlalganj development blocks would be chosen for the drive, the district magistrate said at a meeting held to discuss anti-Covid measures and preparations for the anticipated third wave.

“It should be ensured that maximum people in the blocks get vaccinated at the earliest,” the DM said.

He also directed the officials to administer around 30,000 vaccine doses in a day, which is 10,000 more than the initial target set early this month.

In addition, the DM directed the contract tracing teams to carry out unique contract tracing in Mal, Malihabad and Mohanlalganj to carry out unique contact tracing in the rural areas to keep a check on the virus outbreak.

Besides, the DM asked newly elected village heads to dispel the myths related to the Covid vaccine and to ensure strict implementation of Covid protocols.

Dr MK Singh, additional chief medical officer/district immunisation officer (DIO), said the massive drive would be launched from July 1 onwards in the development blocks where walk-in vaccination would be facilitated.

“We would set up the (vaccination) centres either at the tehsil office or the Panchayat Bhavan. Also, we have made arrangements to publicise the location of the vaccination centres among the people. We would run programmes to resolve vaccine related queries,” said Singh.