As the Covid positive cases in Jammu and Kashmir are on rise, the Chief Secretary Dr Arun Kumar Mehta has emphasised on administering booster vaccination dose against to the eligible population the Union Territory on a war-footing basis. He directed the concerned officers to frame a comprehensive strategy to gear up efforts and saturate the targeted groups of vulnerable population and organize systematic vaccination drives for prompt booster vaccination of the remaining segment and sought details about the number of eligible people to be administered booster doses and the number of people that have already received their doses. Asserting that booster dose was essential for all eligibles, he said that the remaining population should be contacted and a time slot be fixed to administer doses to them within the set deadlines. From past few weeks, the UT has been registering increase in Covid positive cases and as on today there are 3,379 active cases in Jammu and Kashmir. There may be ample reasons for emergence of such cases but the one that everybody should mindful of is complacency. During past few months, the UT reported negligible cases of coronavirus and thus people became very complacent as if the deadly virus had vanished from the planet. However, as emphasized by the scientists and experts, time and again, the virus is not going the vanish. It is very much here and the moment people lower the guard, it attacks with ferocity. Though the current variant of Covid has less mortality rate, the only way to defeat it is to take the precautions without getting scared unnecessarily.
In this backdrop, the administration is moving in right direction by asking the concerned agencies to launch a full fledged campaign for administering booster doses of vaccine to the eligible population. Those above 60 years of age are more vulnerable to all kind of viral attacks, Covid being no exception, and therefore this section of the society needs more protection. The vaccines have proved helpful in containing the virus and therefore this section of the society should be vaccinated the booster doses to ensure that it doesn’t fall victim to the virus.
Secondly, people should understand that the only way to defeat Covid is to follow Covid related SOPs. Face masks, social distancing and hand hygiene are the three main weapons against the virus. While people should once again start following these protocols religiously, the administration on its part should ensure that SOPs are followed in letter and spirit. There should be official monitoring teams on all crowded places to ensure that people wear face masks and maintain social distancing. Children are the most vulnerable section of the society and therefore the administration should ensure that school managements follow the SOPs strictly. Same is true about other public places, government offices, shopping malls, hospitals and other places where crowds assemble. More than the administration, it is peoples’ own responsibility to ensure that are necessary precautions are taken. This is peoples’ battle and people alone can win it. They have to understand that Covid has changed the world and using face masks, maintaining social distance and frequent washing of hands is a new norm and the only way to defeat the deadly virus.
