PANAJI
Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Friday said that State Congress president Girish Chodankar should shed his anti-vaccine mentality, and join the nation's efforts to combat Covid by vaccinating himself.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a government event in Porvorim, Sawant also said that slamming the vaccination drive to score political brownie points was not correct.
"People should willingly take it (vaccine)... He (Girish) needs to be told that until we do not vaccinate ourselves, we will not be able to defeat Covid. If this is the mentality one possesses, we will not be able to complete vaccination," Sawant said.
On Thursday, Chodankar in a press conference lashed out at the Chief Minister's claim of attaining 102 per cent coverage of the Covid vaccine's first dose in Goa. He had also said that neither he nor his family had vaccinated themselves.
"I have my own doubts or concerns, but I have not stopped anybody from taking it," Chodankar had said.
Sawant said that Chodankar's mentality was a negative one.
"The mentality should not be that I am left out (without getting vaccinated) so how can it be 100 per cent (vaccination coverage). There is a need to step out of this negative mentality and drive such a mentality out of people and get them to vaccinate themselves," Sawant said.
The Chief Minister also slammed attempts by opposition politicians to politicise the vaccination drive.
"There is no need to politicise this. There are other issues to politicise. It is important to save lives. What sort of doubt does he have about (vaccines) which have been approved by the world, the country," Sawant said.
On the occasion of the 100 per cent completion of the first dose coverage of the Covid vaccine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to interact with Covid warriors, politicians, administrators and members of the public in Goa on Saturday.
