NEW DELHI: While the Delhi government’s ‘door-to-door’ ration delivery scheme is a fresh political flashpoint between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Centre, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal has decided to use his flagship scheme for vaccination drive in the national capital.
Addressing a digital press conference on Monday, Kejriwal announced to start mass vaccination campaign naming – ‘Jahan Vote, Wahan Vaccination’, adding that vaccination centres to be shifted to polling booths in each Assembly Constituency of Delhi.
The process has been started including training of booth level officers (BLO), who along with a civil defence volunteer will visit residential colonies, will book a slot for vaccination and will appeal to the citizens of Delhi to pay a visit to where they vote for Covid jabs, Kejriwal told the press.
The four-week vaccination campaign will cover as many as 70 municipal wards every week, with an objective to administer the first dose to all the citizens above 45 years and above.
However, as of now, people only aged above 45 will be covered under the scheme as Delhi government’s vaccine stock for 18-44 age group is not available. “Door-to-door awareness drive will be launched soon in Delhi. The first phase of the campaign will start in 70 wards and we have set a target to give the first dose of Covid vaccine to all citizens who are above 45 years of age. People of 18-44 age group will also be included in the scheme once the Centre provides vaccines for youth,” Kejriwal said.
Delhi has around 280 municipal wards in all 70 assembly Constituencies.
Citing that people are not visiting Delhi government’s vaccination centers, so it will be shifted to polling booths. The Delhi government is providing free vaccination at government-run schools, apart from hospitals and other healthcare centers.
“People in the 45 plus age group are not coming to vaccination centres on their own. So, we will now visit their homes,” Kejriwal stated.
He further informed that out of 57 lakh people in the 45 plus age group, 27 lakh have been vaccinated with the first dose. Now they will be given anti-Covid vaccines at polling booths. This door-to-door vaccination campaign, however, seems a political move of Kejriwal eying Delhi Municipal Corporations (MCD) elections scheduled for next year.
