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‘Har Ghar Dastak’: Modi rolls out door-to-door Covid-19 vaccination campaign
Chief ministers of states with poorly performing districts in terms of Covid-19 vaccinations were present at a review meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The campaign “Har Ghar Dastak” means “a knock on every door”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday launched a month-long “Har Ghar Dastak” campaign for special house-to-house Covid-19 vaccination focussed on those whose second dose is overdue to accelerate the inoculation drive.
“So far you have had been making efforts to safely administer Covid vaccine doses at the vaccination centres. Now the time has come to focus your efforts towards house-to-house visits to ensure you cover those who have not been vaccinated as yet,” said Narendra Modi after launching the campaign at a review of 45 districts with low first-dose vaccination coverage across 11 states and a union territory.
Chief ministers of states with poorly performing districts, along with the local administrators, were present at the review.
“Har Ghar Dastak” literally means “a knock on every door”.
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“During this house-to-house campaign, along with those who are yet to receive their first dose, you all must also focus on administering the second dose. When disease transmission comes down, the feeling of urgency also tends to come down. People start thinking what is the hurry, we will get jabbed later,” said Modi.
He added there should be no laxity in the pace of Covid vaccination after having administered one billion doses. Modi asked officials to ensure the vaccination coverage is widened by the end of the year and to enter the new year with renewed self-belief and confidence.
He said people have found innovative solutions to problems due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Modi called for a need to also find innovative solutions to complete vaccination in the remotest regions. He said if required, use songs and jingles to customise plans to vaccinate eligible population in the low coverage regions.
Narendra Modi added the challenges could be many such as difficult, hard-to-reach terrain, or limited resources but many such districts have crossed those hurdles successfully. He referred to his meeting with Pope Francis in the Vatican City and emphasised the need for taking the help of religious leaders in spreading awareness and encouraging people to get vaccinated.
Modi also spoke about vaccine hesitancy and the local factors behind it.
“Develop micro strategies, keeping in mind the experience so far to go for saturation of vaccination by addressing the gaps at local level… You will have to do your best to take your districts nearer the national average,” he said.
He urged the district officials to take the help of local religious leaders, especially in fighting ill-founded rumours that can be detrimental in ensuring all eligible beneficiaries get vaccinated sooner.
The districts that have covered less than 50% of the adult population with at least one shot of the vaccine, and those with low coverage of the second dose were covered in the review.
Modi said under the free-vaccine-for-all campaign, India created a record of administering about 25 million vaccine doses in a day, a feat that bears testimony to India’s capabilities.
According to the Prime Minister’s Office, 45 districts in India still lag in vaccination coverage as they are yet to administer even a single shot to more than half of the adult population when the national average is at least 78%.
These districts include six in Arunachal Pradesh; one each in Assam, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Delhi; eight each in Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland; five in Maharashtra; and four in Meghalaya.
