Assam: Covid vaccination drive at polling booth level from August 25 in Guwahati

GUWAHATI: The state government is set to relaunch a drive to vaccinate the remaining population of Kamrup (Metro) district by roping in booth level workers, who will move from door to door to check the jab status of residents.
Out of 700 odd daily cases reported, greater Guwahati under the Kamrup (Metro) district is adding about one-fourth of the caseload. State health minister Keshab Mahanta said 1,204 polling booths in the urban district have separate voter lists, which are now being used to contact each and every voter to check their vaccination status.
"Nearly 1,204 booth level officers, alongwith ASHA workers, representatives of citizens' committees (in urban areas) and village headmen (in rural areas) in Kamrup (Metro) started reaching out to every household on Saturday morning. We have given them a deadline of three days to check the vaccination status in their respective booth level areas. The entire non-vaccinated population will be brought to nearby polling booths for vaccination during a drive starting on August 25," Mahanta told mediapersons here on Saturday. There are a total of 456 locations for voting in the district covering 1,204 polling booths.
Mahanta said the 150 daily cases being reported in Guwahati may surge to 1,000 in a couple of days if people are not cautious. "We cannot let the entire state suffer because of one district. The government won't hesitate to take stringent measures if Covid-appropriate behaviour is not followed in Guwahati," he warned.
He said their target is to inoculate the entire population in the most vulnerable district within August 31. He also informed that Kamrup (Metro) deputy commissioner has been given the charge to lead the campaign.
The minister further said that they have launched a number (8929103776) for Guwahati where those, who have not been vaccinated yet, can give a missed call to seek assistance. “There is a floating population in Guwahati. They don't have proper residential addresses. They can utilize the missed call service. This will also be useful for residents, who will not be at home during the survey,” the minister said.
"The target is to vaccinate the 100% eligible population here and make the city Covid-free," he said. He added that malls and shops will have to install self-declaration in front of the commercial establishments, notifying that their staff members are vaccinated. Business establishments will be inspected by district officials.
Kamrup (Metro) is estimated to have a population of 15 lakh, and of this over 14.10 lakh have already been vaccinated. Those left out either remained out of the purview of the population survey or a part of the floating population or are new arrivals. Health department figures stated that 10,51,451 (94.96%) residents of the city have already been administered the first dose and around 3,58,784 (32.40%) have completed both the doses.
On Friday, Kamrup (Metro) had 164 Covid cases, though the daily numbers had dropped to single digits in several districts. In South Salmara Mankachar and Dhubri districts no fresh Covid case was reported on Friday. In Lakhimpur district in upper Assam, where the spread was rapid till a month ago, the daily case number came down to 42 the previous day.
Though more relaxations in Covid curbs are expected on September 1, Mahanta hinted it may not be possible if the daily numbers do not dip below 500.