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24% pregnant women registered at Chandigarh’s antenatal clinics vaccinated
Health officials say women are hesitant to take the jab fearing side-effects but regular counselling sessions are being conducted to motivate them
Around 24% of the pregnant women registered at government antenatal clinics in Chandigarh have got their Covid-19 vaccination shots, data with UT health department showed. As on Wednesday, as many as 3,000 pregnant women were registered at the antenatal clinics for routine check-up, of which 722 have taken their first dose of vaccine.
The health department had, on July 13, started vaccinating pregnant and lactating women following the central government’s directions.
“On an average, 40 to 50 pregnant women get inoculated every day at government vaccination centres. The average, however, increases to over 100 on Tuesdays when the women visit antenatal clinics for routine check-up. However, being extra cautious during their pregnancy, the women are hesitating to take the jab. But regular counselling sessions are proving fruitful as more women are now showing up to take the jab,” said Dr Amandeep Kang, director, health services, Chandigarh.
Dr Kang added that the vaccination numbers are satisfactory. “Besides, the health care staff is visiting maternity wards of government hospitals and counselling women post their deliveries. The vaccines are safe for lactating and pregnant women,” said Dr Kang.
On July 27, when the previous antenatal check-up session was held, as many as 154 pregnant women were inoculated. The week before, on July 20, a total of 133 women had turned up for vaccination.
However, during other days of the week, the vaccination centres do not witness a rush of pregnant women. On Wednesday, only 36 pregnant women were vaccinated.
So far, no case of adverse effect following the immunisation of pregnant women has been reported in Chandigarh, the data with the health department showed.
“Women usually are concerned about the side effects of vaccine. We give them counselling about the importance of the vaccination and how they can consult health experts in case of emergency. Also, we are giving training to health staff so that they can also counsel the women and give them proper training,” said a doctor, who counsels pregnant women.
