Centre asks states, UTs to accelerate coverage of Covid-19 precaution dose among population aged 18 years & above

Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has urged States and Union Territories to accelerate coverage of precaution dose for COVID-19 among population aged 18 years and above. He said, vaccination camps should be organised at public places like bus stands, railway stations, airports, schools/colleges, religious yatra routes, religious places etc, to increase the uptake of precaution dose among the eligible beneficiaries. States have been advised to ensure that all vaccine doses are utilised on the basis of First Expiry First Out principle to avoid expiry of the vaccines.

Dr. Mandaviya virtually interacted with Health Ministers of States and Union Territories yesterday to review the implementation of flagship schemes of the central government. Dr. Mandaviya expressed concern regarding the lower utilisation of Central funds in some States. He said, States ought to enhance their performance and expeditiously seek funds from the Centre for speedy implementation of health schemes. He added that various flexibilities have been extended to States for timely utilisation of the funds and creation of health infrastructure under the packages/flagship programmes.