Health Minister suggests stickers be given to notify fully vaccinated status of families

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday suggested that stickers for houses to notify completion of both doses of COVID-19 vaccines should be given to fully vaccinated families to encourage uptake of vaccine among the population.

The minister made the suggestion during a meeting on Tuesday with non-government organisations, civil society outfits and development partners to take the “Har Ghar Dastak” Covid vaccination campaign across the length and breadth of the country, according to a Union Health Ministry statement.

Mandaviya noted that ‘Jan-Bhagidari’ (people’s participation) is essential for such a mammoth exercise like India’s vaccination program.

“India stood tall in COVID-19 crisis because of the initiative of non-government organisations and civil society organisations which supplemented the efforts of the government to ensure that nobody went to sleep on an empty stomach during the Covid lockdown,” he stated.

The minister also noted their contribution in ensuring that 80 per cent of the population and 40 per cent of the population received their first and second dose of the vaccine respectively, according to the statement.

Involvement of all stakeholders working according to their expertise and capacity to achieve a collective goal is the very essence of democracy,” Mandaviya said as he interacted with representatives of various stakeholders helping the government in furthering the reach and coverage of vaccination.

Giving the example of developed countries whose health system and healthcare delivery have been exhausted with multiple waves of COVID-19, the Union Health Minister stressed for the completion of the COVID-19 vaccination drive with 100 per cent administration of both the doses as an immediate necessity to end the pandemic in India, the statement stated.

“We have to all ensure that everybody is vaccinated,” he stated. The partners at the meeting were exhorted to work towards generating community awareness and transforming the vaccination exercise into a ‘Jan Andolan’ (public movement).

The importance of second dose in protecting from serious illness and hospitalisation was flagged as an essential component of communication, the ministry said in the statement.

Mandaviya suggested the partners to identify an area according to their capacity and saturate vaccination among all the inhabitants there.

He also suggested that stickers notifying completion of both doses of vaccines be given to families to encourage uptake of vaccine among the population, the statement said.

The partners were asked to disseminate information on the campaign through NGO/CSO social media channels, use of audio-visual content for posting and amplifying positive messages, invigorating advocacy with leading medical professionals at the national, state or district level for positive messaging around COVID-19 vaccination, it said.

The partners were also asked to dispel myths, misconceptions, and doubts related to the COVID-19 vaccine, support on-site mobilisation of beneficiaries, participate in state, district and block level task forces for overall support in planning and implementation of COVID-19 vaccination drive, the statement said.

Non-government organisations and civil society outfits also shared innovative steps being taken to ensure saturation of vaccination, especially in low-performing localities. The cumulative COVID-19 vaccine doses administered in the country have crossed 113 crore.