Lucknow, December 15: Just a day after crossing the eighteen crore dose milestone, Uttar Pradesh achieved another major milestone on Wednesday as the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine administered in the state crossed the 12-crore mark.

In addition, as Uttar Pradesh continues to conduct one of the most successful vaccination campaigns in the country, a day before, the state also reached the landmark of more than 6 crore people —  6,11,23,582 — receiving both the doses of Covid-19 vaccine so far. Afraid of COVID-19 Vaccine, Uttar Pradesh Woman Hides Behind Drum, Refuses to Get Vaccinated (Watch Video).

Standing on the top, Uttar Pradesh has administered 18,11,92,010 total doses. The State is followed by Maharashtra with 12,57,80,476 doses. In terms of percentage, nearly 42 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated and more than 82 percent have received at least a single dose of the vaccine.

In the light of the emergence of the new variant ‘omicron’, the government has expedited its vaccination coverage in the state. According to the latest figures on CoWin, Uttar Pradesh has administered over 12,00,68,428 first doses of the vaccine so far.

Keeping in mind the new variant of corona infection, the state government is committed to providing vaccine shield to the people of the state at the earliest. In wake of the emerging situation, work is being undertaken under a special strategy to expedite the vaccination campaign in rural areas- the cluster approach and the ‘har ghar dastak’ strategy.

Now, in the ongoing door-to-door awareness campaign in the villages, healthcare teams including Asha and Anganwadi workers are busting myths and motivating people to take the jab as soon as possible.

Uttar Pradesh has played an important role in the pan-Indian vaccination campaign with its wide coverage of the population under the vaccine umbrella. From the very beginning, CM Yogi Adityanath laid special emphasis on the vaccination campaign, underlining it as a strong weapon in dealing with the pandemic.

Cluster Model 2.0 giving a boost to second dose coverage

The government has adopted the ‘Cluster Model 2.0’ to improve the second dose coverage in the state. Giving priority to the full vaccination, the work of applying the second dose using the cluster model 2.0 is being done in those villages/localities where the first dose was successfully administered through the cluster model.

The state-wide launch of the cluster model earlier in June for the Covid-19 vaccination drive made the task easy, equitable, and seamless, eliminating crucial roadblocks like transport and the digital divide.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 15, 2021 04:49 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).