Chennai: Targetting a large section of eligible people to be inoculated against Covid, Bruhata Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has organised a special vaccination mela called 'Lasika Mela' in Karnataka's capital city on Friday. Besides Bengaluru, the vaccination mela has been started in the Dakshina Kannada district where the officials aim to administer 1.2 lakh doses.
On this occasion, BBMP Special Commissioner (Health), Thrilok Chandra said 86 per cent of people have been inoculated with the first vaccine dose in the city and the second dose has been administered to 52 per cent of citizens. To increase the vaccination drive in the city, block and lane-level vaccination drives have been taken up.
"Whoever has not taken the vaccine will be identified and will be vaccinated through special 'Lasika Mela' throughout the city on Friday, and it is urged that citizens take complete benefit of this arrangement," he added.
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Chandra said that all eligible citizens in the city should take the benefit of this vaccination drive and vaccine centres should be set up for slum dwellers, street vendors, various industrial workers, construction sites, market places, bus stations, railway stations and other places and citizens must be vaccinated. Even the Traders Association, Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) must be involved and collaborative work must be carried out to vaccinate everyone in the city, Chandra added.
"In the city's primary health centres, vaccination centres, mobile vaccine centres, block and lane-level vaccination has been given to all citizens and they are requested to utilise these facilities," he said.
Bengaluru stands second among the metropolitan cities in India after New Delhi (1,99,03,032) in terms of administering a number of Covid vaccination. The authorities have managed to administer 1,42,04,959 vaccine doses in the city. The positivity rate stood at 0.42 per cent with a total of 6,746 active cases in Urban Bengaluru.
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'Lasika Mela' In Dakshina Kannada
A mass vaccination drive is being conducted in Dakshina Kannada on Friday, largely focussing on people eligible for a second dose of vaccine than those who were to get jabs against Covid for the first time.
"Administer the vaccine to all those who are over 18 and make Lasika Mela a success. In order to prevent the third wave of the pandemic, we need to ramp up testing and Covid protocols to be taken seriously," said Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner KV Rajendra as quoted by Times of India.
Of the 1.2 lakh jabs, about 67,000 vaccine doses were stocked up for Mangaluru taluk while the rest were distributed for Bantwal, Belthangady, Puttur, and Sullia taluks. Ordered were given that the Anganwadi and ASHA Workers to be deployed at the vaccination centres.