Arvind Gupta
In the fight against the global pandemic, India’s national vaccination programme has been one of the most successful and largest vaccination programmes when compared to many developed western nations with significantly low population base to vaccinate. Since the start of the national COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16 last year, India has administered to over 90 per cent of its eligible citizens first doses and 65 per cent second doses. In the vaccination drive, so far, the country has achieved several milestones, which have no precedent in the world, including administering over 100 crore doses in less than nine months, administering 2.51 crore doses in a single day and several times administering one crore doses in a day.
Compared with other developed nations, India has done a better job in administering Covid vaccination to its eligible adult citizen of 93.7 crore (as per the RGI (Registrar General of India)) across all its states and UTs (Union Territories). India began administration of COVID-19 vaccinationon 16 January 2021. As of 17 June 2022, India has administered over 1.9 billion doses overall, including first, second and precautionary (booster) doses of the currently approved vaccines. In India, 93% of the eligible population (12+) has received at least one shot, and 83% of the eligible population (12+) is fully vaccinated.
In comparison to the national vaccination programme the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir has done the most commendable job. Despite of one of the most difficult terrains, even not easily accessable on foot were covered by around 13,000 healthcare workers traveling through rice fields, orchards, snow-clad highlands and rugged mountains of Jammu and Kashmir to ensure the availability of vaccination at far off places with minimum of wastage and accomplished to administer the vaccine to the people in time and the result of their efforts is for everyone to see.The testimony to this fact is that the percentage of wastage of vaccination is less than 1%, to be exact it is 0.78%.
The health authorities under the able guidance of Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha and Dr.Jitendra Singh Union Minister in PMO Office directed to adopt some innovative strategy to ensure that vaccination programme in the UT of J&K is accomplished and no eligible citizen in any age group is left unattended. The health workers assigned with the vaccination task moved out of their comfort zones into the comfort zones of the beneficiaries, especially reaching out into the mountains so that even the nomads get vaccinated. And the encouraging and satisfying result is that although J&K stands second only to Himachal Pradesh, the size of the population to be vaccinated in the Union Territory was almost two times more than the hill state. The flexibility also helped J&K achieve its target early. “For example, when the health workers moved up in the mountains to vaccinate the nomadic population, they were instructed to be flexible in terms of age groups that were supposed to be vaccinated because it was not easy to reach them again and again, which definitely helped in achieving the desired targets.
Volunteers from different segments of the society including the political workers especially from the ruling party at the centre participated whole heartedly to ensure the success of this flagship programme of Pradhan Mantriji. A 120-year old woman emerged as the ‘poster girl’ of vaccination in Jammu and Kashmir, where in the beginning of March and April 2021 the vaccine hesitancy was resulting in slow progress. Dholi Devi, 120, a resident of village Ghar Katiyas of Sub Division Drudu, Tehsil LattiUdhampur District, set an example for younger people when she was administered her first dose at a vaccination camp.
Despite of so many successful efforts put in by different agencies, ranging from 3208 vaccination centres, 13000 plus strong force of health workers, fifty partially dedicated hospitals along with fully dedicated Covid hospital established by DRDO, still the UT of Jammu & Kashmir registered a total of confirmed infected cases of 457517 out of which 451355 cured and discharged but still unfortunately the number of Covid related deaths stood at 4760.
The Covid virus is neither dead nor gone away, so in addition to the efforts put in by the concerned agencies, we have to religiously follow the Covid protocol otherwise as based on modelling study, researchers at IIT Kanpur said, “A fourth wave of Covid-19 in India is likely to start from June 22, with its peak occurring around August 23 and subsiding around October 24. So it’s better to respect the Virus and follow the SOPs as announced by the respective District Administrations from time to time. It is pertinent to mention that this is the time to behave and not to be panicked, as the Health Department of UT of Jammu & Kashmir is fully geared up with necessary infrastructure for any kind of future urgency with availability of 4838 number of beds and sufficient quantity of oxygen and drugs.
(The author is State Secretary, BJP Jammu & Kashmir UT and Inchare Covid Vaccination programme for the UT)
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