Ranchi: Health minister Banna Gupta on Wednesday said the urban local bodies of Jharkhand will be asked to identify residents with co-morbidities who are in need of Covid-19 vaccine.
“We have estimated that around 70 lakh people, who are above and below 50 years of age and living with underlying health conditions, need to be administered the Covid-19 vaccine. Before their registration commences, we will ask all the ULBs to identify such people through surveys,” Gupta told reporters at his government bungalow in Doranda.
When asked whether the cost of vaccines for 70 lakh beneficiaries will be borne by the state, Gupta said they are yet to take a call on it.
“The vaccines have just begun arriving. Let the first phase be complete. We will sit with the chief minister and discuss the issue at length,” Gupta said in his reply to TOI.
When asked whether the state government will exercise complete control on the vaccination of the general populace, Gupta’s stand was inconclusive.
“During the Covid-19 pandemic, we roped in private healthcare providers to mitigate the crisis. In the interests of the people, we will involve private players if needed. But as of now, nothing has been discussed on this matter,” he said.
Notably, the state health minister, a Covid survivor himself, had raised doubts on the efficacy of the Covid vaccines a couple of days ago. Banna was reportedly quoted saying that India should not be turned into a nation of lab-rats.