A ‘Tika Utsav’ or vaccine festival will be marked in the country from April 11-14 at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with an aim to inoculate the maximum number of eligible people against the coronavirus amid a surge in cases.
Several states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are gearing up with appeals being made to eligible people to get themselves vaccinated during the duration of the ‘Tika Utsav’.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has also issued an appeal to people to get vaccinated in large numbers during the ‘Tika Utsav’.
In his interaction with chief ministers to discuss the COVID-19 situation and the ongoing vaccination drive on Thursday, Prime Minister Modi had urged them to focus on vaccinating all those who are above 45 years of age in high caseload districts.
He has called for making optimum utilization of vaccination capacity.
“Sometimes, it helps in changing the atmosphere. The birth anniversary of Jyotiba Phule is on April 11 and on April 14, there is the birth anniversary of Baba Saheb. Can we organize a ‘Tika Utsav’ or vaccine festival and create an atmosphere of ‘Tika Utsav’” he had said
“We should vaccinate as many eligible people through a special campaign and decide on zero wastage. If there is zero wastage in four days during ‘Tika Utsav’, it will also increase our vaccination capacity,” Modi had asserted.
“Let’s see how we can mobilize things from April 11 to 14 and there will be the satisfaction of achievement. It will greatly help in changing the situation. I have also told the Indian government to provide as many vaccine doses as possible,” he said.
This should be our endeavor to vaccinate maximum eligible people during the ‘Tika Utsav’, Modi had asserted.
While some states have flagged a “shortage” of vaccine doses, the Centre has maintained that a sufficient quantity of the jabs has been allocated to all the states and that many of them have been unable to inoculate all eligible beneficiaries.
“As the country faces the second wave of COVID-19 infections, our Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi Ji’s concept of a Tika Utsav or Vaccination Festival is a call to arms that will infuse fresh energy and renew the nation’s battle against the novel coronavirus. On behalf of the Apollo Hospitals group, I extend my fervent support to ensure that the target of 100% vaccination of 45+ population in the high focus districts is achieved between April 11 to April 14, 2021, two days on which we commemorate the memory of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar respectively” stated Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group.
“With the number of vaccinations crossing 94 million, we will soon reach the 100 million mark. At Apollo Hospitals, we began work as early as October 2020 to strengthen our vaccine cold chain and prepare our facilities for efficient and fast administration by trained healthcare personnel with the highest safety standards. We are today geared up to deliver up to 1 million doses per day” added Dr. Reddy.
“The Hon’ble Prime Minister’s timely reminder to the country to continue with COVID appropriate behavior and COVID management will surely inspire each one of us to continue to take adequate precautions. I am sure that if we all resolve with strong determination and focus on ‘Test, Track, Treat’ along with the vaccination program, together we can turn the tide in this battle against COVID-19” Dr. Prathap Reddy concluded.
The daily count of positive cases reached new record highs in the last few days despite having dipped to about 20,000 a few weeks back.
