ITANAGAR: The Arunachal Pradesh government on Tuesday urged religious leaders and community influencers to support the state government in achieving 100 per cent coverage of Covid-19 vaccination.
Addressing a virtual meeting of all faith-based organisations here, Health Minister Alo Libang said the state needs to improve the inoculation coverage to 100 per cent, and religious leaders can play a major role in motivating beneficiaries to take both doses of the vaccine.
Representatives of Christian, Islamic, Hindu organisations besides those of Donyi Polo, an indigenous religion, and self-help groups participated in the meeting, according to an official statement.
It was found that a section of the people of the state are reluctant to take Covid-19 vaccine because of some rumours, an official said.
Appreciating the religious leaders' enthusiasm, Libang expressed hope that the vaccination percentage would improve with their participation.
In his address, National Health Mission (NHM) Director C R Khampa presented the Covid-19 vaccination status in the state.
As on Monday, 7,79,925 people above 18 years of age (77 per cent) have been administered the first dose of the vaccine while 5,59,976 (55 per cent) got the second jab, Khampa said.
State Immunization Officer Dr Dimong Padung replied to queries of the participants of the meeting, the statement said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently held a virtual meeting with district magistrates of over 40 districts of the country, including some of Arunachal Pradesh, having low Covid-19 vaccination coverage.