Delhi: 1st dose of vaccine might be made mandatory to enter public places

The Delhi government is likely to propose to the DDMA to make the first dose of anti-Covid vaccine mandatory by December 15 for entry to public places and also incentivise people with cash prizes, discounts and lottery to encourage them in getting inoculated, officials said on Thursday.

It may also be proposed that by March 31 next year getting fully vaccinated be made a must for entry to public places like malls and metro stations, they said.

They cited examples of European countries that have adopted a vaccine transport system thereby limiting access to public places for the unvaccinated. The officials also said that countries like the US, Philippines, Moscow and Mexico have incentivised vaccination.

In a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority held in September to review Delhi's COVID-19 situation, the city health secretary had suggested many measures, including making vaccination mandatory for entry to malls and metro trains.

"It is also the right time to de-incentivize/incentivize remaining beneficiaries for vaccination by making vaccination mandatory for entry into malls Delhi Metro, restaurants and offices," the minutes of the meeting read.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said on Tuesday that 97 per cent of Delhiites have received their first dose of vaccine, and 57 per cent are fully inoculated.

"These are good numbers," he had said and urged people to get their second dose soon.