Over 1.6 million precaution COVID-19 vaccine doses were administered at 11 992 vaccination sites on 7 August under the state-wide Free Precaution Dose Campaign organized by Uttar Pradesh government under ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to celebrate 75 years of India’s Independence.
The vaccination campaign was organized on the first Sunday of August to administer COVID-19 precaution doses to eligible beneficiaries who are 18 years and older.
Apart from precaution doses, the first and second dose of COVID vaccines were also administered to people who had not received them.
WHO field teams monitoring the Free Precaution Dose Campaign at Primary Health Centre Bakhira in Sant Kabir Nagar district in eastern Uttar Pradesh (Photo: Sarvesh Kumar / © WHO India)
The vaccination campaign was conducted in all District Hospitals, Community Health Centres, Primary Health Centres and selected Health and Wellness Centres in Uttar Pradesh, which has a population of over 200 million.
District immunization officers and immunization partners in all 75 districts of the state were oriented through a virtual meeting on 5 August and information, education and communication materials were designed and distributed to inform people about the event.
Surveillance medical officers, sub-regional team leads and field monitors from the WHO-National Public Health Support Programme monitored 568 vaccination sites across the state.
Mr Paltu Ram, Member of Legislative Assembly from Balrampur, receiving a COVID-19 precaution dose at Primary Health Centre Jokhiya in Balrampur district, Uttar Pradesh (Photo: Anupam Ojha / © WHO India)
Uttar Pradesh government began administering precaution (booster) dose on 10 January 2022. On 15 July, the state government launched a 75-days special drive to administer free precaution doses to all aged 18 years and above at public vaccination centres.
India launched its COVID-19 vaccination drive on 16 January 2021, and progressively expanded it to cross the milestone of delivering 2 billion vaccine doses on 17 July 2022.