Dear District leaders
A Country of Particular Concern
During the peak of the first wave, India’s daily case tally did not cross 1 lakh mark. Now India has recorded more than 3.15 lakh cases on a single day. This is the highest ever single day spike in virus in the world. In this scenario, vaccination is the only solution to control the pandemic. I am particularly happy that Rotary India’s Covid Vaccination Task Force has been able to motivate clubs to collaborate with the local governments to start vaccination centres in areas that needed them.
The Rotary Club of Yamuna Nagar Jagadhari, RI District 3080, has collaborated with the Government of Haryana and will start a vaccination drive from April 22, 2021 till May 5, 2021, when centres will be opened near prominent residential areas. They will take the assistance of the Government in administering the jab to eligible people. Our congratulations to the Zonal Coordinator and the District Governor for such a fine initiative. I am sure the leadership will continue to support the Government and make sure every eligible gets the jab .
We understand the concern of the Government of India in not encouraging door-to-door vaccination because of the challenges in maintaining the protocol of observation of people for 30 minutes after vaccination. Further, the report says that frequent movement of vaccine door-to-door can affect its efficacy, occurrence of high wastage and even contamination. In a rare case of Adverse Effect Following Immunisation, (AEFI) Government also does not want delay in reaching a medical facility.
Rotary clubs can approach the local government to permit setting up of special centres to cater to the need of physically challenged persons and senior citizens. This will be a great service since many differently abled people need the support of ambulance to go a vaccination centre. If minimum approved facilities are provided and requirements are met, Rotary clubs can organise smaller vehicles (Maruti Omni) which can be converted into ambulances for transporting differently abled people to vaccination centres.
News reports state that the vaccination pace has dropped again in the last ten days from over 3.6 million daily doses to 2.8 million. There are over 940 million adults in India and if we have to be safe in the coming months, everyone of them must be vaccinated. This means that the average doses should increase to at least 6.8 million per day. Except few States, most States which have reported rapid rise in infections have administered a lower number of doses as per the data published in the national newspapers which have quoted the source as ‘covid19india.org’.
This is the time for Rotarians to act. We may have to address several challenges to get the people vaccinated. But, as I keep on stressing, start from your home, your club members, their families, Rotaractors, Annets, your friends, business associates, workers in your home, offices and everyone known to you or you may meet or talk.
I am sure each one of you will able to involve every Rotary Club in this endeavour to fight against Covid and see that we get rid of this dreadful virus.