The Assam government is targeting to complete COVID-19 vaccination of all its eligible population, estimated to be around 2.1 crore, with both doses by January 15 next year, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday. Accordingly, the first doses of vaccines to all the people above 18 years will be completed by November 20, Sarma said at a press conference here.

“We have given 2.78 crore jabs to our people, including 77 lakh people with double doses. We have around 2.1 crore eligible population for the vaccines and around 2,00,76,000 have received the first dose,” he added.

All the willing and concerned people above 18 years of age have almost taken at least the first dose of vaccine and the remaining around 10 lakh people are a 'resistant population', who are either not willing to take the jabs or some very senior people not able to come to the vaccine centres, Sarma said.

“We are targeting these 10 lakh people now and will launch a massive door-to-door vaccination drive for seven days in most interior places so that we will be able to vaccinate all the people by November 20. “If we can do that, then we have set a target to complete vaccination of all our eligible people with both doses by January 15 next year,” he said.

The chief minister hoped that once the state is fully vaccinated, the third wave of the pandemic will not have much impact on its people.

(PTI)