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Mohali: Senior citizens’ response to vaccination drive remains tardy
Out of the over 4,00,000 people vaccinated in Mohali since the drive rolled out on January 16, only 70,000 are aged above 60
Even though Mohali district has crossed the 4,00,000 mark in the number of people vaccinated against Covid-19, senior citizens’ response remains far behind those aged between 18 and 45.
According to figures from CoWin Portal, out of the 4,02,930 Mohali residents inoculated, the maximum, at 1,92,000, are from the 18-45 age group, followed by 45-60 age bracket with 94,000 vaccinations, while among the senior citizens, only 70,000 have got the jab.
Health and front line workers are last in the list with only 46,930 having been immunised, even though they were the first target group when the vaccination drive began on January 16.
Phase 2 of the drive for senior citizens and comorbid people aged above 45 began on March 1, that for all people above 45 years on March 23, while the 18-45 age bracket was covered from May 1 under the third phase.
Notably, out of the total number, 2,18,000 are men and 1,39,000 women.
In Mohali, vaccines are being administered at 58 government sites and 11 private hospitals. A drive-through campaign is also underway at the Sports Complex in Sector 78.
Both Covishield and Covaxin are being offered. While the second dose of Covishield is being provided only after 84 days as per central government guidelines, Covaxin’s second dose is being administered after 28 days.
Among the population covered so far, 3,60,000 have received Covishield and around 43,000 Covaxin.
Deputy commissioner Girish Dayalan said the drive was picking up. “Initially, people were reluctant, but now we are getting requests for camps in different areas. There is no target for senior citizens, but the response has not been encouraging, despite the district having a good literacy rate,” he added.
Dr Vikrant Nagra, in-charge for the vaccination drive in Mohali, said, “These days, all our centres are running at full capacity. The drive was stopped shortly earlier in May due to shortage of vaccine, but now the supply is regular.”
