Speed up vaccinations in poll-bound states: Election Commission to Centre

Photo for representational purpose

The Election Commission of India has asked the Centre to speed up Covid-19 vaccination in poll-bound states. The goal is to ensure everyone is fully vaccinated at the earliest in these state, the commission said, as per a report in India Today.

As per the report, it is unlikely that the Assembly polls in the five aforementioned states will be postponed.

In the first quarter of 2022, five states - Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab - are scheduled to go to the polls.

At a meeting on Monday, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan told the EC about the rate of vaccinations in each poll-bound state. While the first-dose vaccine coverage is close to a hundred per cent in Uttarakhand and Goa, it is close to 85 per cent in Uttar Pradesh and around 80 per cent in Manipur and Punjab.

In states where the vaccine coverage is low, the EC has asked the health ministry to expedite the vaccination process so that the population is fully inoculated at the earliest.