New Delhi: With a focus on achieving 100 per cent first-dose Covid-19 vaccination coverage, the Centre has decided to extend the Mega COVID-19 vaccination campaign ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ till December 31.
On November 3, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the campaign after conducting a review meeting with officials of 45 districts across 12 states and UTs, including Delhi and Maharashtra, where the first dose of Covid-19 vaccination was low.
The campaign was initially launched with a month-long objective but now it has been extended for achieving 100 per cent first-dose Covid-19 vaccination coverage.
Earlier in the day, the Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan held a review meeting with officials of all states and UTs over the omicron strain. During the meeting, Centre advised the states and UTs to accelerate testing for early identification and management of Covid-19 positive cases, highlighting that the omicron variant “does not escape RT-PCR and RAT (Rapid Antigen) tests.”
Meanwhile, the Union ministry of home affairs (MHA) has extended the existing Covid-19 guidelines across the country till December 31 in wake of the omicron variant.
Furthermore, states and UTs have been advised to strictly follow the November 25 advisory wherein “rigorous screening and testing” must be conducted on all international passengers, and their contacts must be closely tracked.
