Turnout for first dose vaccination drive drops to 28.5%

The turnout of front-line workers for the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine declined to 28

The turnout of front-line workers for the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine declined to 28.5%, with only 414 of the 1,450 targeted workers turning up for the drive on Tuesday. This is the lowest coverage rate since the launch of the inoculation drive for front-line workers.

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The turnout of healthcare workers for the second dose also dropped to 60.6% on Tuesday, as per the health department data, with 3,036 of the 5,002 targeted healthcare workers taking the second dose shot of the Covid-19 vaccines at 66 session sites.

“The footfall of both front-line and healthcare workers remained low despite targeting more than 6,000 people. In case of second dose inoculation, health workers are aware they can take jab anytime between four and six weeks, while in the case of front-line workers, there has been reluctance among the employees of revenue and panchayati raj institutions (PRI),” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer.

Until now, almost 14,000 of the 18,000 registered front-line workers have taken the first shot, due to which officials are expecting the footfall to remain low. Of the 500 police personnel targeted on Tuesday, about 160 took the vaccine shot, while only 123 of the 500 targeted Municipal Corporation of Gurugram employees turned up to take the jab.

The sluggish response continued in other departments as well, with only 88 of 300 targeted PRI workers and 14 of the 100 targeted revenue department officials turning up for the drive. “Considering the poor footfall, the department will hold a special camp for police personnel on Saturday. For MCG, we are talking with the officials about setting up a camp,” said Yadav.