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Our Correspondent
Imphal, June 20 (EMN): Manipur Health authority is targeting to vaccinate at least 70% of the total eligible population (18 years and above) by the end of this year to control the Covid-19 pandemic in the state.
This was disclosed by the mission director of Manipur State Health Society, Dr. N Shyamjai, while speaking to reporters on the sideline of one-day media sensitisation programme on Covid-19 vaccination in Imphal on Saturday.
Informing that the state has around 20-lakh eligible population for the Covid-19 vaccination programme, he stated that more than 5 lakh doses have been administered since the formal launching of the vaccination drive in the state on January 16 this year.
"So we’re targeting to cover the remaining eligible population by the end of December this year", Dr. Shyamjai said. "As high as 12,000 doses were administered in a single day in May. So we’re targeting to vaccinate at least 70 percent of the eligible population".
The media sensitisation programme was held at Indian Medical Association Manipur chapter office in Imphal as per the existing Covid protocols.
Speaking in the event, the president of Editors Guild Manipur, Khogendra Khomdram expressed the need to organise such discussions to ease the misunderstandings between the health officials and media on Covid-19 related information.
Even if the officials have limitations in sharing the information, they can at least share the basic information, suggested Khogendra, who edits a local vernacular The Sangai Express.
On the other hand, chief editor of Impact TV, Yumnam Rupachandra, a local cable TV network, opined that the health authority should focus more on the strategy to share and disseminate the updated Covid-19 related information in a systematic way instead of focusing on other issues.
As of Saturday, the state has so far given 5,75,718 anti-Covid jabs including 4,93,501 first and 82,217 second doses to the residents.
The total number of healthcare workers vaccinated for both the first and second doses of Covishield vaccine is 64,747 while 1,50,375 frontline workers received both doses. Till date, the first dose of Covishield vaccine was given to 1,57,986 people between 45-59 years and 95,411 people above 60 years besides 1,07,196 people between 18-44 years.