Registration begins on CoWIN
As the state of Uttar Pradesh intensifies its fight against COVID-19, both walk-in and online registration will be available for vaccination of children in the age group of 15-18, and they will start getting the doses against the dreaded novel coronavirus from Monday.
Even as UP continues to conduct the vaccination drive most efficiently in the country with over 20.22 crore vaccine doses administered so far, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has issued directives to ensure complete preparedness concerning the vaccination for 15-18-year-olds, frontline workers and senior citizens (from January 10), and that a massive awareness campaign be conducted for immunisation of adolescents.
While reviewing the COVID-19 situation across the state in a high-level meeting with senior officials, the chief minister instructed, “Sufficient availability of vaccine doses must be ensured so that the drive is carried out in a phased and hassle-free manner to benefit the eligible beneficiaries.”
For those districts where the first dose coverage still remains lower than 80 per cent, the chief minister has asked the authorities to prepare a detailed action plan and ensure 100 per cent vaccination of adults. In addition, those who have not yet been vaccinated should be encouraged to get vaccinated as soon as possible. For vaccination, the general public should also be contacted through the CM Helpline.
Meanwhile, Uttar Pradesh continues to reach new milestones in its Covid vaccination rollout every day. Uttar Pradesh has administered the highest number of Covid vaccine doses among states. Over 87 per cent of UP population has been partially vaccinated, whereas nearly 50 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated in the state.
In the light of the emergence of the new Omicron variant of novel coronavirus, the government has expedited its vaccination coverage in the state. The chief minister has already said that complete vaccination has proved to be effective in fighting against new variants like Omicron, hence, the pace of the ongoing vaccination drive has been ramped up. All those people who have not taken the second dose despite the stipulated time on a priority basis are being contacted.
Along with putting preventive measures in place, the Uttar Pradesh government has also ensured abundant availability of medical resources in the state. As per the directives issued by the chief minister, medical arrangements have been ensured at government and private hospitals. Over 551 oxygen generating plants have also become functional in the state.
Special arrangements for Magh Mela
Stepping up preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19 in the Magh Mela-2022, which is all set to begin from January 14/15, the government has made usage of masks, 72 hours RT-PCR negative report and complete vaccination certificate mandatory for all the seers, saints and devotees arriving at the Mela campus.
Moreover, the Mela administration has also planned to deploy medical teams at all entry points of the campus for strict adherence of Covid protocols. Besides, there would be regular testing and checking at camps of seers and saints during the month-long event.
Strict measures are being planned after seeing the surge in the COVID-19 cases across the nation as people from all across the country are expected to arrive for the mela.
Meanwhile in the midst of increasing cases of COVID-19 in the neighbouring states, work has intensified for the betterment of medical arrangements in Uttar Pradesh. On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on January 3 and 4, all the districts will have mock drills in hospitals, through which availability of doctors, paramedical staff, status of isolation and ICU beds, ventilators, oxygen plants, paediatric intensive care unit (PICU), availability of life-saving medicines, etc. will be investigated. The designated officers of the medical department have reached their respective districts for the mock drills.
Yogi has also given instructions to ban the visit of prisoners and their relatives in jails and to set up containment zones as per the need. He said, “Omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly in various states, although the viral load is weak. In such a situation, people should wear masks, maintain social distance, and keep themselves sanitised. Along with this, vaccination is a must. Every eligible citizen should get vaccinated at the earliest.”
He also said that when UP witnessed the first case of COVID-19 in March 2020, the state had neither testing facility nor treatment. “Today, RT-PCR test laboratories are active in every district. There are oxygen plants in every district and an adequate number of isolation ICU beds are also available. Over 550 oxygen plants are functional in the state,” he said.
Emphasising on strict implementation of night curfew, the chief minister said that the police officers should ensure that there should be no unnecessary panic, confusion, rumours about the COVID-19. He also instructed that people should be asked to wear masks, not to create a crowd and not to stay outside after 10 pm. He said to make sure that people do not panic unnecessarily, Integrated Covid Command and Control Centre (ICCCC) set up in all the districts of the state should be kept active 24×7, regular meetings should be held there as before. He asked officials to make wide publicity by making the ICCCC helpline number public so that people could contact them immediately.