Chennai: Vice- President M. Venkaiah Naidu has emphasised the need to educate people on the importance of Covid-19 vaccination and urged all stakeholders to work collectively to achieve the target of full vaccination by the year end.

Speaking at a book presentation function on the occasion of Doctors’ Day here yesterday, he underlined the need to address vaccine hesitancy in some sections of the population, especially in rural areas.

“There is a need to dispel fears in some sections and the vaccination drive should turn into a truly pan-India ‘Jan Andolan’,” he said and urged the medical fraternity to take a lead in creating awareness and educating the people on the importance of getting themselves vaccinated.

Stating that community support was critical in the fight against Coronavirus, the Vice-President of India said those having vaccine hesitancy should be made aware of the fact that they were putting their own lives and those of their family members at avoidable risk.

Asking the Centre and States to work together in ‘Team India’ spirit to quicken the pace of the vaccine campaign, Naidu appealed to civil society members and icons in various fields, including film personalities, sportspersons and people’s representatives, cutting across party lines, to come forward and encourage people to go for vaccination. “We need to understand that vaccination has to be a collective responsibility of all of    us”, he added.

Observing that rapid vaccination was the key to defeating the Covid-19 pandemic, the Vice-President said India has already administered more than 32 crore doses surpassing the total number of vaccinations done in the United States.