SHILLONG, Sep 21: The Meghalaya government has stressed the need to maximise the COVID-19 vaccination coverage in order not to worry about the “third wave” ahead of Christmas.
Health Principal Secretary Sampath Kumar said that the number of cases is coming down in the state and only three districts have higher positivity rates now.
“The positivity rate is higher because of fewer tests. If we increase the number of tests, the number of cases will come down,” he said.
The department is now focusing on the need to improve the vaccination exercise as the number of people inoculated against COVID-19 had dipped in August.
The department recently held a review meeting with all the deputy commissioners underscoring the need to vaccinate as many people as people before the Christmas celebrations start in less than three months.
The vaccination in the urban areas has been satisfactory, unlike in the rural areas.
“We have lost many lives. All the DCs have been asked to make faith-based leaders understand the importance of vaccines as there are cases of people refusing to get vaccinated,” Kumar said, adding people can enjoy a ‘normal’ Christmas if they get vaccinated.
The Health department will involve the faith-based leaders and public representatives over the next two weeks to organise vaccination drives across the state toward achieving herd immunity.
Advising the people to believe in science along with faith, Kumar said it has been proven that vaccinated people are less likely to get infected seriously and most of those who died were either not vaccinated or were admitted to hospitals too late for treatment.
He said the state government has set a target of achieving 100% vaccination for the first dose by October.
Kumar said the government is continuing with genome sequencing and all the samples are found to be of the Delta variant.
Asked about the possibility of a third wave striking in the state, he said it could happen during the festive season ahead if people do not follow COVID appropriate behaviour.
Kumar further said the booster dose for people who completed their vaccination is still being discussed by the Centre. “We will follow the national strategy once it is adopted,” he said.
