By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, August 5, 2021: With 80 percent of the population in urban areas having been vaccinated, the Odisha now plans to aggressively vaccinate people against Covid-19 in the rural areas to ensure that the inoculation exercise can be completed to a large extent before a possible third wave of the pandemic hits the State, officials said.

Odisha has a set a target of vaccinating around 3.10 crore adult population in the State. So far, more than 40 lakh people have been fully vaccinated with two doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 which is 13.5 percent of the total beneficiaries. Over 1.71 crore doses have been administered to people, out of which 1.31 crore have received the first jab which make up 42.5 percent of the targeted beneficiaries in the State.

As the State is dependent on the allocation of the doses from the Centre, sources said that the target to complete vaccination drive in Odisha within 4 months has not been possible.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday cautioned people against the possible third wave of Covid-19 infections in the state. The state government will impose a complete lockdown if people continue to behave in an irresponsible manner and flout Covid norms at public places, he added.

“We have started gradually unlocking to save the livelihood of people. However, it has been observed that many places are overcrowded. If we notice that Covid protocol is not adhered to, the state will impose complete lockdown once again,” Patnaik said in a video message.

He added that although a lockdown may affect the livelihood of many, the government will be left with no option if the situation worsens.

A third wave of Covid-19 infections is already being seen in a number of countries.

“In India, some states have reported a surge in cases in recent days. The risk of a third wave in Odisha cannot be ruled out,” the Chief Minister said.