In an attempt to achieve at least first-dose vaccination of as many people as possible before the end of this calendar year, the central government is planning to launch an initiative called ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ for the next one month, starting Dhanteras.

“The ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ door-to-door vaccination campaign will run over the next one month for full vaccination in poor performing districts and will be launched on November 2 on the occasion of Dhanwantari Diwas,” official government sources told news agency ANI.

The sources have also informed that India will have 30 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines in November, including 6 crore of Covaxin, 22 crore of Covishield and 2 crore doses of Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D.

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya had announced the campaign on Wednesday to motivate people towards achieving complete vaccination against the virus.

“No district should be without full vaccination. ‘Har Ghar Dastak’ campaign to start soon in the poor-performing districts to enthuse and motivate people towards full Covid vaccination. Let us aim to cover all eligible with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine by end-November 2021,” he said during a national review meeting with health ministers of all states and Union Territories (UTs).

It was Mandaviya’s suggestion to initiate the campaign on the occasion of Dhanwantri Jayanti.

About 48 districts have been identified across India where the first dose coverage among the eligible populace is below 50 per cent.

Mandaviya highlighted the need to fast-track the coverage of vaccination, stating that there are more than 10.34 crore people in India at present who have not yet taken the second shot even after their prescribed interval lapsed.

State health ministers have been requested to ensure continuous oversight on the progress of the national vaccination programme.