Ghaziabad: Days after Uttar Pradesh started the vaccination of those aged between 18 and 44 years, authorities have mandated that the beneficiaries must produce a local address proof to get the jab.  While earlier vaccines for the 18+ age group was opened up in 7 districts of the UP, it has now started the drive in 11 districts.

However, the Centre has not mandated local residency to get the jab in any state. Any person from any state can register for vaccination on the CoWin portal and can book a slot for the vaccine according to their location.

Sumit Rajvanshi, 28, who is based in Noida, hails from Madhya Pradesh but does not have a local ID proof. He has not been able to get the vaccine till now and will have to wait to return to his hometown. "Many other professionals working in NCR are now facing the same issues", he said. In a letter issued by the Director of the National Health Mission, Aparna Upadhyay, it has been said that the districts where vaccination has been going on since May 1 have informed the UP government that a large number of people from other states have registered for vaccination.

Due to this, people of UP have been unable to get the vaccines. Authorities are targeting 5000-6000 average vaccine beneficiaries daily in the two districts of Noida and Ghaziabad. As per the order issued by the NHM Director, it has been said that the Uttar Pradesh government has purchased vaccines for the people of the state and the state government has invested their own money by ordering the vaccine. Therefore, only the people of Uttar Pradesh will be vaccinated with these doses. People have been advised that only residents of UP must go to the government Covid vaccination centres.

While the move could bring relief to UP residents, on the other hand, people living in Noida and Ghaziabad may face issues for not being locals. Most of the working professionals living in the twin cities are migrants from other states and do not have local addresses, which has become a major concern for them.

If You Like This Story, Support NYOOOZ

NYOOOZ SUPPORTER

₹ 10 - ₹ 1000

NYOOOZ FRIEND

₹ 2000 - ₹ 5000

Your support to NYOOOZ will help us to continue create and publish news for and from smaller cities, which also need equal voice as much as citizens living in bigger cities have through mainstream media organizations.