As the vaccination rate in State has gone above the national rate with least procedural wastage of vaccine doses, the State is now on fast track towards achieving 100% vaccination of the population above 18 years of age.
Reviewing the vaccination programme on Tuesday, Chief Secretary Suresh Mahapatra said the State is now in a transitional phase of the pandemic and there has been substantial reduction in number of infected cases.“At this point of time, we have to intensify the vaccination drive before the hit of a possible third wave of the pandemic,” he said.He directed the district Collectors to prepare village- and GP-level micro plans for vaccination. He also directed to ensure cent-per-cent implementation of the micro plans through door-to-door survey and open more vaccination centres in villages and GPs.
Additional Chief Secretary Health and Family Welfare Raj Kumar Sharma said the total vaccination in the State crossed 4.03 crore by November 13. Of this, 2,68,04,755 persons have received the first dose and 1,34,96,059 the second one.
Sharma added that the portion of 18 + population who received first dose was 82.4% against the national average of 79.8%. Similarly, 41.5% of the population received the second dose against the national average of 38.4%. A target is set to accomplish 90% administration of the first dose by November 30.National Health Mission Director Shalini Pandit appraised that the vaccine waste has dipped to -5.3% in the State, thereby saving around 20 lakhs of the doses.
She also said there is sufficient supply of the vaccine and syringes and the districts would be supplied more as per their demands.Meanwhile, capital city Bhubaneswar has crossed yet another milestone in the Covid-19 vaccination drive with the total vaccination crossing a whopping 25-lakh mark.
As on November 14, a total of 26,48,813 vaccine doses were administered to beneficiaries across all eligible age groups by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).