Assam sets Jan. 15 deadline to administer COVID-19 vaccine to all

Massive drive to cover people in hill districts, the elderly

The Assam Government has set January 15 as the deadline to complete COVID-19 vaccination of all the eligible population, estimated at 2.1 crore.

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said about 95% of all above 18 years in Assam had received their first dose. Inoculation of the remaining 10 lakh was targeted to be completed by November 20.

The 10 lakh people were a “vaccine-resistant” population, many of them in the three hill districts of Central Assam, who were either not willing to take the jab or were senior citizens reluctant to go to vaccination centres, he told journalists while launching Project Sadbhavana on Friday. The project is a one-time initiative to dispose of all files — some dating back to the 1990s — across departments before the government migrates to a paperless system.