Delhi to vaccinate 45 plus age group at polling booths
Polling booths in Delhi will be turned into vaccination centers and booth-level officers (BLOs) will visit all the households to book slots for people above 45 years under the Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination campaign, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said on Monday. The new initiative is launched with an aim to vaccinate all above the age of 45 years in the next four weeks.
Door-to-door vaccination to be done soon: Kejriwal
In a virtual press briefing, Kejriwal said, "We are starting a Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination campaign from today. Under this campaign, we will tell people to visit their designated polling stations to get vaccinated. Door-to-door vaccination to be done soon."
Vaccines for this group are not being utilized: Kejriwal
The Chief Minister said, "We have noticed that people in the 45 plus age group are not coming to vaccination centers set up by the Delhi government, and vaccines are not being utilized." "There are around 280 wards in Delhi. The BLOs will visit households in 72 wards from Tuesday to identify and send eligible persons for vaccination to the polling booths," he said.
Thirty lakh people in the group yet to be inoculated
"There are 57 lakh people in Delhi in the 45 plus age group and of them, 27 lakh have been given the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine while 30 lakh are yet to get the jab," Kejriwal said.
E-rickshaws arranged to ferry people to vaccination centers
Kejriwal said, "Polling booths are close to homes of the people so they will not have to travel long distances to get the vaccine. Also, the government has arranged e-rickshaws to ferry people to the vaccination centers." The BLOs will give slots for vaccination to people at the nearest polling center. In a cycle of five days, all the eligible persons will be covered.
A similar drive will be conducted for 18-44 age group
Kejriwal said, "After covering all the 280 wards in four weeks, the government will be able to say that all 45 years and above have received the vaccines." "A similar drive will be conducted again for second dose vaccination after three months. When we get vaccines for the 18-44 age group as required, we will start this program for them too," he added.
