Combating Covid-19: Uttar Pradesh to be 1st state to start vaccination for 18+ from May 1, free of cost

New Delhi: Stepping up preventive measures in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases, Uttar Pradesh under the effective leadership of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will become the first state to start the vaccination of all the citizens above 18 years of age from May 1.

In pursuance of the order of the Centre, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath has planned to take COVID-19 vaccination across the state, in an organised manner amid the surge. The UP government, the first in the country, followed by other states, has already offered the COVID vaccine free of cost to all people over the age of 18, from May 1.

For vaccination of people above 18 years of age, all necessary preparations are underway in accordance with the guidelines of the Centre, with the state government’s comprehensive action plan for the next phase of vaccination.

On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, the State Health Department formulated an action plan to conduct the vaccination campaign on a large scale with a special focus on seven high-load districts including Lucknow, Prayagraj, Kanpur, Meerut, Bareilly, Varanasi and Gorakhpur. The state government will take forward the vaccination programme with its own resources.

State to get 1 crore doses of vaccine, global tenders to purchase 4-5 crore doses

To ensure regular availability of Covid vaccines and to ensure that the vaccination drive is carried out without any hindrances or obstructions, the state will receive a total of one crore vaccines for the next phase of vaccination. Both Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech will provide 50-50 lakh doses each.

In addition to this, for carrying the vaccination drive effectively, the state government has also floated a global tender to purchase four to five crore doses of the Covid vaccine.

As the government’s decision comes into effect, about 9 crore people between 18 and 45 years of age will get the benefit of vaccines in the state, which in turn will accelerate the vaccination drive and will help in bringing down the transmission levels by the youth.

State succeeds in administering more than 1,20,88,714 doses till date

“In the second wave of this pandemic, it is the youth who seem to be more vulnerable as the numbers indicate. It is essential to provide them protection as people under 45 years of age have to stay outdoors in order to take care of their parents or children” stated CM Yogi adding that “the vaccination drive must be carried with full force, people aged 45 and above will be provided vaccines on 4 days of the week,whereas, people aged between 45 to 18 will be administered the doses on Fridays and Saturdays.”

Furthermore, CM Yogi also instructed the officials to assure that all the vaccination centers and camps must strictly adhere to the Covid-19 protocols. He reiterated the importance of double masking, distancing and hand hygiene and said that the mask should seal the air passage around the nose and mouth for proper protection.

Uttar Pradesh Leads in Covid-19 Vaccination

With more than 99,75,626 people being given the first dose and more than 21,13,088 people receiving both the doses, Uttar Pradesh accounted for the maximum number of persons vaccinated, said Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) Health, Amit Mohan Prasad.

Emerging as a leader in terms of the number of fully vaccinated people, more than 1,20,88,714 doses of vaccine have been administered in Uttar Pradesh till now.