Vaccination ‘very low’ in Nagaland — CM

Our Reporter
Dimapur, April 13 (EMN):  Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Tuesday lamented that Nagaland’s average number of Covid-19 vaccination was ‘very low’ compared to other states; this, he said, was because people were being ‘misguided by rumours’, which has caused hesitancy.

Rio stated this during the Tika Utsav (vaccination festival) and launch of new vaccination centres at Chapel Hall, District Hospital Dimapur.

He urged the healthcare workers and village authorities to create awareness among the masses about the need to get vaccination at their turn.

While stating that the state has been able to effectively control the disease so far due to co-operation from all, starting from government to village level, he expressed concern over the Covid-19 second wave which is looming over the country and urged the gathering to be alert and continue to follow all necessary precautions.

The chief minister said that India had been fortunate to have a large supply of Covid-19 vaccine and called upon the people to take the opportunity of availing it free of cost.

He asserted that being vaccinated doesn’t necessarily mean immunity to the virus ‘as people can still get affected’, and appealed to the citizens to continue to follow all safety protocols.

Stating it is not possible to stop people from coming to Dimapur, being the gateway to Nagaland, he urged the people of Dimapur and the bordering areas to be on alert.

Rio added that despite Nagaland doing better than other states (in containing the spread of Covid), people should be alert, follow the SOP and continue to keep the state in “green zone”.

During the programme, Chief Medical Officer of Dimapur, Dr. Mereninla Senlem, stated while giving a brief report on Covid-19 management in the district, that the department had recently conducted random testing at different locations in Dimapur. She informed that 32 people had been tested and all the reports came negative.

She gave a brief summary of how the Health department along with DTF Dimapur, NGOs and communities were performing as well as the facilities provided by the hospital. She also informed the chief minister about the need for an oxygen generation plant.

District Immunisation Officer, Dr. Rebecca Y Sema informed that around 3,003 healthcare workers, 13,244 frontline workers and 8,452 general public above the age of 45 years in the district had been vaccinated till April 12.

Sema added that it had 14,230 doses available and stored between 2°C to 8°C to maintain their potency. She added that there were 52 vaccination centres in Dimapur and in order to maximise coverage, the centres would remain open throughout the week.