Amid fears of the fourth Covid-19 pandemic wave, a mere 35% eligible Mohali residents have come forward for the precautionary vaccine dose.
Since the booster dose drive was first rolled out by the central government on January 10, as many as 91,000 of the total 8,15,168 beneficiaries in Mohali district have become eligible for it.
But as of Thursday, only 31,546 have received the third shot, which is to be administered nine months after the second dose.
For starters, the central government had allowed healthcare and frontline workers, besides senior citizens with comorbidities, to receive the precautionary vaccine dose for free at government vaccination centres from January 10.
From March 16, even senior citizens without comorbidities were allowed to get the free third dose, while for the remaining adults, the drive started on April 10. But for them, the third dose is paid and available only at private health facilities, including Fortis Hospital in Phase 8, Max Hospital in Phase 6 and Shalby Hospital in Phase 9.
For the third dose at private centres, the Union government had capped the prices of Covishield and Covaxin at ₹225 per dose, but allowed the centres to charge up to ₹150 per dose as service charge.
However, the response remains tardy, as only 945 people in the 18-60 age group, 15,961 senior citizens, 2,904 healthcare workers and 11,736 frontline workers have so far received the third shot out of the 91,000 eligible.
{{/usCountry}}However, the response remains tardy, as only 945 people in the 18-60 age group, 15,961 senior citizens, 2,904 healthcare workers and 11,736 frontline workers have so far received the third shot out of the 91,000 eligible.
{{/usCountry}}Dr Girish Dogra, nodal officer for Covid-19 in Mohali district, said, “People are not coming forward for the booster dose as it is paid. However, they must realise that it is crucial, as the protection provided by the first two doses decreases over time. As soon as one completes nine months after the third dose, they must get the precautionary dose for better immunity against the Covid-19 virus.”
Just 180 kids jabbed with first shot in 12-15 age group
The drive for the 12-15 age group is also moving at a snail’s pace. While 43,080 children are eligible for vaccination in this age group in Mohali, a lowly 180 have received the first dose and only 41 are fully vaccinated.
Civil surgeon Dr Adarshpal Kaur said the response could be poor due to the sweltering weather and also because the children were busy with exams. “We are hopeful that the drive will pick up during the summer break in schools,” she added.
Dr Kaur said children can visit any government health centre with their Aadhaar card for walk-in registration and vaccination.
Meanwhile, the response by the 15-18 age group is far more encouraging, as of the 50,872 children eligible for vaccination, 47,967 (94.2%) have been immunised once and 28,412 (55.8%) with both doses.
Tricity’s daily Covid cases shoot up to 33 again
Fluctuations in tricity’s daily Covid-19 cases continued on Thursday, as 33 people tested positive for the virus.
While the first two days of May saw the tricity reporting 19 cases each, the number spiked to 33 on Tuesday, before dropping to 18 on Wednesday and again shooting up to 33 on Thursday, highest in two months.
With 16 cases, Chandigarh led Thursday’s tally, followed by Panchkula with 11 and Mohali with six. The 11 cases in Panchkula were also the highest since February 27 when the district had reported 13 cases.
The infections in Chandigarh were reported from Sectors 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 21, 22, 23, 28, 33, 38, 44, 49 and Raipur Khurd.
The spike in tricity’s daily cases pushed its active caseload from 145 to 149 in the past 24 hours.
As many as 72 people are still infected in Chandigarh, 56 in Mohali and 21 in Panchkula.