Flying squads to make sudden visits to Durga Puja pandals

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Puja committee members and puja goers, beware of flying squads that are ready to make sudden visits to puja pandals to ascertain your vaccination status. It is wise to get vaccinated as early as possible if you want to visit any puja pandal.

The Durga Puja is from October 11.

Sources in the State Health Department and the NHM (National Health Mission) said that flying squads comprising officials of the district administration and the Health Department would make sudden visits to puja pandals. Flying squads will check the vaccination status of puja committee members, priests and volunteers, besides puja goers. The inoculation of at least one dose of vaccines will do for one to get involved in the festivities.

Time and again, the Health Department made it clear to all puja committees and the general public that vaccination is a must to get involved in the Durga Puja festivities. The Health Department and the district administration now propose that if any Durga Puja committee feels a vaccination drive in or around the puja pandal is a necessity, they should contact the Health Department or the district administration. The health authorities will make all arrangements for such vaccination drives.

This proposal is not for puja committees alone. Other religious places like maths, mandirs, churches, masjid, namghars, xatras etc., can also contact the Health department or district administrations if they want any such vaccination drives nearby their premises.

The vaccination status in the state remains that till 6 pm today 2,52,00,105 people got inoculated – 1,90,91,318 took the first dose, and 61,08,791 took both doses. The vaccination drive was going on from 2,379 vaccination centres on Wednesday.

Only 18+ people are eligible for taking Covid-19 vaccines. Going by the voter lists, around 2.30 crore people are eligible for inoculation in the state. However, many among the Covid vaccine-eligible people are staying outside Assam for jobs and other purposes. Apart from this, lactating mothers are not eligible for taking the vaccine. Thus the Health Department puts the number of Covid vaccine-eligible people in the state at around 2.10 crore.

The Health Department wants to inoculate the first dose to the remaining 20 lakh people as soon as possible.

Till this morning, the department had a stock of over 28 lakh vaccines. The Health Department and the NHM appealed to people who are yet to get inoculated to take the vaccine willingly. The vaccination drive is going on in a mission mode.

Also Read: Special Advisory For Durga Puja Issued By Assam Government

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