From the successive waves of the Coronavirus, it is very much clear that vaccination is the only strategy that would prove helpful in the long-term fight. Indian scientists and industrialists have made the country proud by manufacturing the vaccine, not just for the Indian citizens but for all the countries around the world.
India started a massive vaccination drive a few weeks ago and is vaccinating the highest number of people per day in the world. In the second week of April, the country was vaccinating more than 35 lakh people per day but in the last few days, the vaccination drive has slowed down to around 22 lakh people per day.
The vaccination drive slowing down is something that India cannot afford at this critical juncture because, as the Coronavirus spreads through the rural areas, things will get scarier if people are not fully vaccinated. The vaccination drive slowed down due to the fear of getting Covid at the vaccination centre. Given the long queues at the vaccination centres, people generally avoid going to such crowdy places. The government must increase awareness about vaccination, and, if possible, also start a door-to-door vaccination campaign to ensure that every eligible person in the country is vaccinated.
In Uttar Pradesh, where many cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Varanasi, and Prayagraj witnessed massive caseload, people have stopped coming out of their homes to get vaccinated, due to the fear of getting infected. Getting the vaccine to every household with help of ASHA and ANM workers seems to be the only possible solution to vaccinate every eligible person in such cities.
Moreover, there are some vaccine hesitancy issues as well. Many people are avoiding vaccination due to misinformation being spread on social media against it by some influential people. The government must take necessary action against those misleading the masses against the vaccines.
India has vaccinated the second-highest number of people in the world, just behind the United States. However, given the large size of the population, the vaccination has reached only around 10 per cent of the people of the country so far. Even if in total around 50 per cent of the people are eligible for vaccination, India still has a 40 per cent population yet to be covered.
The state governments, while in preparation to ensure the supply of essentials like Oxygen and Remdesivir, must not take their eye off the vaccination. After the vaccination drive gets opened up for the people above the age of 18 from May 1, a massive spike in the number of people getting vaccinated is expected. But the government should also ensure that every eligible person above the age of 45 gets vaccinated till April 30.
Given the fact that vaccination is the only long-term solution against the deadly Chinese virus, the government, the people, and the healthcare organisations must join hands and come forward to make the world’s largest vaccination drive successful.
