Engage one lakh more vaccinators: CM

No shortage of vaccines, more likely to be received from Centre soon: Yogi

LUCKNOW: Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Sunday asked officials to create a force of one lakh more vaccinators for expanding and speeding up Covid-19 vaccination in the state.

He also said the state had no shortage of vaccines and a couple of new vaccines were likely to come in from the central government soon.

“Make a district-wise strategy for vaccination. The June target is one crore vaccinations. In July, the target has to be scaled up by three folds. For this, create a force of one lakh more vaccinators. Train nursing students as vaccinators and explore other options as well,” he said at a Covid-19 review meeting.

So far, two crore people were administered the vaccine in UP, he said. The number includes 36.27 lakh second doses and 30 lakh doses given to people in the 18-45 age group.

He cautioned: “We must understand that the virus has weakened, not been eradicated. Even minor negligence could have serious implications. So, it is the responsibility of everyone to follow Covid safety protocols.”

In the past 24 hours, the positivity rate was 0.4% as only 1,165 fresh cases were reported and the Covid recovery rate was 96.7% in the state, he added.

A total of 3.10 lakh tests were done in this period.

“Thirty-six districts reported cases in single digits and the total active cases are 17,900,” he said.

He also said the oxygen demand was falling now.

“More than 400 new oxygen plants are coming up across the state, of which 72 have become functional and soon the remaining ones will be activated,” he said.

The chief minister asked for an organised effort against the illegal liquor menace.

“Keep an eye on every district. Act in the strictest possible manner against all those found involved in the illegal liquor trade. Speed up the drive against the trade. The district magistrate and the district police chief in each district must lead the drive from the front,” he said.