Congress should work to address vaccine hesitancy: Sonia Gandhi
(Sourced from PTI)
Congress President Sonia Gandhi on Thursday said that the party must play an active role in ensuring full COVID-19 vaccination coverage and address vaccine hesitancy wherever evident. Addressing a virtual meeting of party general secretaries and in-charges of AICC in states, she said that India needs to prepare for a possible third wave and take proactive measures so that children are spared this calamity.
Sonia also called upon party leaders and workers to continue to put pressure on the Central government to ensure that the daily rate of vaccination trebles, so that 75 percent of the population gets fully vaccinated by end of this year.
Sonia said, "No doubt, this is dependent entirely on the adequacy of vaccine supply. We must continue to put pressure on the Central government which has, at our party's insistence, finally taken on the responsibility for this." "We have to also ensure that registration takes place, that vaccine hesitancy wherever evident is overcome and vaccine wastage is minimized," she added.
Her comments come in the wake of the BJP accusing Congress of aiding vaccine hesitancy. Quoting experts, she said that they are talking of a possible third wave and some have pointed to the vulnerability of children in the coming months.
Regarding the second wave of COVID-19, Sonia said, "We must learn from this traumatic experience so that we don't have to experience it again." Talking about the white paper on COVID-19 management brought out by Congress, she said it is being translated into other languages. "It is very detailed and needs to be disseminated widely. I hope this gets done urgently," she said.
Referring to the rise in fuel prices, Sonia said that it is causing an intolerable burden on people and agitations have been organized to highlight how it is hurting farmers and millions of families. "Apart from fuel, the prices of many other essential commodities like pulses and edible oils too have skyrocketed causing widespread distress," she noted.
Appreciating the relief work carried out by party workers across the country during the pandemic, Sonia said that this has been done in the Congress Party's finest traditions of community service. "We must continue our effort. The control rooms will continue to function. The helplines too. Emergency services like ambulances and essential medicines should continue to be provided," she added.
