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J-K administration ropes in religious leaders to speed up Covid-19 vaccination
Officials said more than 4.5 lakh people have been inoculated in the Union territory, including more than 77 per cent of frontline workers.
To speed up the Covid-19 vaccination drive, Jammu and Kashmir administration has roped in religious leaders. More than 50 religious leaders and clerics received their vaccine shots on Saturday.
Officials said more than 4.5 lakh people have been inoculated in the Union territory, including more than 77 per cent of frontline workers. From the past few days, Covid-19 positive cases are on the rise in J-K and after several weeks the number of active Covid-19 cases have crossed 1,100.
Jammu and Kashmir on Friday recorded 152 fresh Covid-19 cases, the highest daily tally in the past 2.5 months. With this, the total cases in the Union territory have jumped to 128,249 while the death toll has reached 1,979.
On Saturday, at the Sher-I-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS) vaccination centre, more than fifty religious and social leaders were vaccinated during a program organized by the Divisional Covid Control in coordination with the SKIMS.
“After receiving the first short of vaccine, all the religious leaders urged people to come forward for vaccination. While underscoring the importance of health, they said that health has the utmost importance in our religion and we should take care of it and listen to experts who are making all efforts to save lives that have been heavily impacted due to the ongoing pandemic. They appealed to the people not to pay any attention to any rumours and shun unnecessary apprehensions about the safety of the vaccine,” said a SKIMS spokesperson.
SKIMS director, AG Ahangar, said that the pandemic created havoc across the world, impacted lives and economies. “The UT of J-K, like other parts of the country, was also impacted and lost many precious lives to Corona. Experts across the world tried and tested many medicines including anti-virals, plasma therapy and other protocols to save lives and today the vaccine is available which has been prepared and launched after thorough research/scientific evidence to save people from complications due to Covid-19. The pandemic is still not over and the countries are witnessing second and third wave,” he said, urging people to follow SOPs and not pay any heed to rumours about the vaccination. He said the vaccine is safe and has been received by many people including him and other healthcare workers.
“The religious leaders who received the vaccination at the SKIMS can play a critical role in educating people about the safety of the vaccine and its health benefits,” he said.
