Vaccination order not a threat, but in public interest: Dr. Khimiao

July 28, 2021 41 Views No Comment

Correspondent KOHIMA, JUL 28 (NPN) : Justifying the State government’s “no vaccination, no salary” order for staff of civil secretariat and directorates amidst the growing public anger, Health & Family Welfare (H&FW) principal director Dr Neikhrielie Khimiao clarified the order should not be taken as a threat as it was in the interest of the people.

Interacting with a section of media persons at his office chamber here on Tuesday, Khimiao said when the government was determined to do something right, employees as government servants should not judge whether the decision was right or wrong.

He opined that due to circulation of fake information, many frontline workers were not cooperative, claiming that the government had to issue the order for the safety of citizens. “While there was a court order which states that it is up to the individuals to decide whether or not to get vaccinated, at the same time, we have received a suo moto order from the court asking the department why our frontline health workers were not vaccinated,” he said.

Citing this, he said that the department had issued a circular to health and frontline workers either to get vaccinated or to produce RT-PCR negative test report every 15 days. Khimiao regretted that even after repeated advisories, many people were yet to come forward to get vaccinated. He feared that these people would spread the disease.

He also claimed that he did not come across death of any fully-vaccinated person, adding that there was no such record. Except for those being conducted on individuals entering or exiting the State, he said sufficient testing kits were made available to the districts to carry out tests free of cost.

Khimiao also expressed happiness that more citizens were turning up voluntarily for vaccination, adding that Covid vaccine had reached over 7 lakh individuals, including those who had received the first and second doses, out of the 13 lakh targeted as on July 26,.

He remarked that the impact of the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic, if any, would depend on how the State handled the second wave. He said if the spread of the virus could be contained successfully and vaccination target achieved, then the State might not have to face the third wave.

Source: http://www.nagalandpost.com/vaccination-order-not-a-threat-but-in-public-interest-dr-khimiao/237199.html