PANAJI
The launch of phase 3 of Tika Utsav was supported by residents who have recognized the hard work being done by the Pramod Sawant-led Government in this fight against Covid. From Sunday June 13, vaccination for all persons above 18 without any restrictions i.e. Tika Utsav phase 3 got an overwhelming response with vaccine centres seeing lots of people walking in for the vaccination. The very first day saw a record 18,662 jabs, which was the highest single-day vaccination in the state, according to a Department of Information and Publicity press release.
From the launch of Tika Utsav on April 11 in Goa, the Government's adaptability has allowed them to learn and adjust to find the best methods to reach their people and get them to attend this mass vaccination drive.
TIKA UTSAV 1 and 2 required no prior online registration and focused on 45+ age group only. During this period 2,62,622 people have been exclusively given the first dose and 72,982 have been fully vaccinated.
At all moments, vulnerable groups most likely to be affected by the covid wave, were given the preference to vaccinate inorder to ensure their safety. From people with comorbid conditions to lactating mothers and parents of kids upto age 10.
In order to boost up the turnout for TIKA UTSAV 3.0, the Government recognized the issues affecting it and made the needed changes. Prior online registration, which was facing troubles due to network, technical issues or simply non availability of preferred centres, was changed and a walk-in 'on spot' registration was implemented making vaccination available to all. This allowed the people without the reach to technology to also be a part of this drive and have a chance to get vaccinated. Today's figures are observed over 15,000 vaccinations per day.
North Goa has a total of 109 panchayat vaccination centres, and a total of 88 centres in South Goa are on scheduled running, apart from the 18 permanent centres in the North and 22 in the South.
Judicious use of the vaccines is also highly important to ensure little to no wastage. Goa’s efficient utilisation of vaccines has earned our state praise from the Centre, as it has administered more doses than those allotted to it by making use of leftover doses in vials. The Union ministry of health and family welfare rated Goa the highest, above even Kerala, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh. Instead of ten doses per vial, Goa's vaccination centres have been using leftover doses in vaccine vials to vaccinate a total of 11 people per vial.
As of June 17, 5,91,612 people have received the vaccine, out of which 4,91,398 have exclusively received the 1st dose and 1,00,214 have been fully vaccinated. A total of 6,91,826 doses gave been administered, says a Dept of Infromation and Publicity press release.
Having made all medical facilities and infrastructure available for a successful vaccination drive, the Government now faces the issue of vaccine hesitancy. Frontline vaccination doctors say that 'all facilities and staff are available to ensure the rate of vaccination keeps up, it is now the duty of the people to come forth and get themselves vaccinated at the earliest possible.' Doctors have asked the local representatives to mobilize the beneficiaries to prevent the number of people coming forth for vaccination from decreasing. People with pending second doses should also remember to get their 2nd jab after the 84-day gap period without fail.
