Vaccination rates in East Khasi Hills are “not pickup up as desired,” especially in rural areas, despite the arrival of what appears to be the third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was stated in a press release today from the Deputy Commissioner’s office.
The DC had, on January 5, had led a meeting of the District Task Force on Covid-19 and Covid vaccination, of which she is the chairperson. The Meeting was attended by the District Medical and Health Officer, Additional DMHO, Deputy Superintendent of Police, the incident commanders of Shillong Zones, Executive Magistrates, other officers, principals representatives from colleges and schools and representatives from the Shillong All Faiths Forum.
The meeting was called to review the current Covid-19 situation and the progress of vaccination in the district. The DC stressed on speeding up vaccination, which is not picking up as desired, especially in rural areas. With rising cases of Covid-19 and emergence of the Omicron variant in the district, it is imperative for all eligible citizens to get vaccinated, the release said. “Because of its high transmissibility, there is a possibility of a huge surge in cases. This will put a strain on the health care system if many people require hospitalization. Vaccination as the first line of defence against the virus as it prevents severe illness, hospitalization and death and hence must be sped up,” it added.
The DC also informed that election mode vaccination will be conducted in Nongkrem and Mawkynrew on January 11 and 12. Teams will stay overnight at the polling stations and mobilise people for vaccination.
With the commencement of vaccination for teenagers above 15 years old, the committee decided to seek the proactive role of the Education Department and the heads of educational institutions in urging parents to get their children jabbed. Vaccination camps will be organised in colleges and schools.
With regard to the tourists and entrants into the state, the task force decided to intensify checks at the district entry points so that all entrants adhere to the entry protocols and test or produce negative RT-PCR test certificates.
Hotels will be instructed to ensure that systems be put in place to check the negative RT-PCR certificate and Covid vaccination status of their guests. Hotels will also ensure that no guests are allowed to leave the premises while awaiting their test report.
During the meeting, routine immunisation was also reviewed. In view of the low coverage among children, three rounds of Mission Indradhanush will be conducted on February 7, March 7 and April 7 with an aim to ensure that all unvaccinated children from 0-2 years get the vaccines due. It was informed that intensified pulse polio immunisation will be conducted on January 24 to administer polio drops to children from 0-5 years of age.
