EC asks Union health ministry to speed up vaccination in poll-bound states

Ahead of the assembly elections early next year, the Election Commission (EC) has asked the Union health ministry to speed up vaccination in poll-bound states.

In 2022, Goa, Manipur, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab will go to the polls. At a meeting today, Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan informed the Election Commission of the vaccination rates 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.