E-Paper
Chandigarh’s evening vax drive picks up pace, but still not fast enough
The UT health department’s plan of administering the first dose to 2,48,486 more eligible people by July 30 may get delayed as not enough people are showing up to take the jabs
The evening vaccination drive in Chandigarh is gradually picking up pace with 808 people being inoculated in the past four days, according to the health department data.
With the aim to administer at least one dose of Covid vaccine to the eligible population till July end, the UT health department opened four vaccination centres — Government Multi Specialty Hospital, Sector 16, and Sectors 22, 45 and Manimajra civil hospitals — for the evening drive on June 30.
These vaccination centres are being operated from 9am to 9pm, except Sundays, while other centres are open in the morning shift from 9am to 3pm.
On June 30, only 68 people were inoculated during the evening shift while the number increased to 154 on July 1 and 227 on July 2. As many as 359 beneficiaries took the jab at the evening centres on July 3.
According to the latest electoral list, 7,09,180 people are eligible for vaccination in the 18-plus age group. So far, 4,60,694 (64%) have taken their first dose while 97,253 of them are fully vaccinated.
However, the UT health department’s plan of administering the first dose to 2,48,486 more eligible people by July 30 may get delayed as not enough people are showing up to take the jabs.
Over the last seven days, only 7,505 people on average were getting vaccinated in the city on a daily basis, against the target of 10,000.
As many as 6,361 people were vaccinated during the morning shift in the city on Sunday.
“It takes time for the new initiatives to pick up pace. People will gradually come to know about the evening vaccination facility, and more people will reach out. If 500-600 people are vaccinated in the evening, the drive will be a success. The evening centres will facilitate vaccination of people from the business class as they face difficulty in taking out time for the morning shift,” said Dr Amandeep Kang, UT health services director.
“People can simply walk in to get the jab as no prior slot booking is mandatory on the Co-WIN app. Also, we may start vaccinating people through mobile vaccination vans in the evening. We urge people to come forward for vaccination as it is the only key to avert the third wave,” she added.
