Amaravati/New Delhi, Apr 17 (IANS): Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy on Friday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting 60 lakh more Coronavirus vaccines doses.
"Supply 60 lakh doses of Covid vaccine to my state to ensure that all the population above 45 years in my state are vaccinated for the first dose in the next three weeks," wrote Reddy.
He thanked Modi for dispatching 6.4 lakh vaccine doses in response to his earlier letter and noted that the state took up 'tika utsav' (vaccination drive) on a large scale.
The Chief Minister highlighted that the southern state managed to inoculate 6.28 lakh people on a single day on Wednesday, the highest single-day feat by any state.
"We could achieve this in my state as we leveraged the village and ward volunteer system which is a unique decentralized governance mechanism where a dedicated volunteer takes care of the needs of 50 families," noted Reddy.
Vaccination was carried out in the village and ward secretariats under the jurisdiction of each primary health centre (PHC) to all eligible people.
"Such a saturation approach not only focuses the entire district administration but also motivates people to get vaccinated through community mobilization in the true spirit of tika utsav," he said.
Satisfied with AP's capability to vaccinate that many people on a single day, Reddy beamed that the state established a standard for others to emulate.
"However, we could not continue the same drive as the vaccine stocks have completely run out. If sufficient stocks of vaccines are made available, we are well poised to make your dream of vaccinating all vulnerable people a reality in the next three weeks," said the CM.
The Chief Minister promised full cooperation to the Central government in all aspects of Covid management and vaccination.
Though Reddy waxed eloquent on the volunteer system, an excellent setup, it still has its gaps, such as even minor issues of non-functional street lights and others not being resolved for months together in some places.
A few months ago, the Prime Minister himself lauded the grassroots governance system during a video conference with the Chief Ministers and talked of implementing it across the country.