Panaji: The sanjeevani to fight covid is vaccination for all citizens of Goa above 18 years of age. Aam Aadmi Party has questioned the Govt of Goa about the high cost that Goans are now being required to pay for vaccination. State Convenor Rahul Mhambre said that the CM Pramod Sawant made a grand announcement of providing free vaccines for Goans exactly one day before the municipality elections on April 23, but it turned out to be just another election jumla. Not only has the Govt not provided free vaccines, it has not even started the vaccination drive yet, forcing people, especially those aged 18-45 who have been waiting for months, to go to private hospitals.
Mhambre also highlighted various technical issues with the Arogya Setu app and Cowin portal, and demanded that Sawant should make the process easy for Goans so as to complete vaccination of a large number of people at the earliest. He suggested that Directorate of Health Services has a database of people registered under DDSY. The people can be called for in age brackets, such as 35-45 first, then 25-35, and lastly 18-25, using DDSY scheme database available with Directorate of Health Services and Goa Electronic Ltd to inform the date, time and location of vaccination by SMS.
Mhambre informed that the AAP Govt in Delhi has already embarked on its vaccination drive for 18+ from today, adding more than 75 schools as vaccination centres in order to reduce crowds at the regular hospitals where vaccination is taking place.
Mhambre also requested the CM to take all the elected mla and all political parties into confidence and engage in mass vaccination drive. It’s time to rise above party lines. The CM must use his office to procure the vials on priority basis for Goenkar, said Mhambre.
The vaccjnation camps be held in villages across Goa and instead of health centres the vaccination camp be organised in community halls as people fear visiting health centers as covid tests are done at the same premises.
Mhambre also repeated the party’s earlier demand to reduce cost of Covid test, stating that high costs of testing in addition to vaccination is putting a heavy burden on Goans already in a lockdown situation.