2nd-dose beneficiaries opt for pvt hosps to not delay vaccinations

PUNE In Pune, Covid vaccine beneficiaries prefer to take their first dose at a government centre, while for the second dose, private hospitals are the preferred choice, as per data furnished by the district health officials

PUNE In Pune, Covid vaccine beneficiaries prefer to take their first dose at a government centre, while for the second dose, private hospitals are the preferred choice, as per data furnished by the district health officials.

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In the last one week, private hospitals have seen more vaccinations for second-dose beneficiaries than government hospitals.

On Thursday, 61,364 beneficiaries were inoculated in the district, as per the CoWin app. So far, a total of 6,402,749 beneficiaries have received the first dose and 2,513,206 beneficiaries have received their second dose.

As per authorities, on September 7, 129,647 beneficiaries received their first dose at government hospitals, whereas only 7,282 beneficiaries took their first jab at private vaccination centres.

Whereas 38,387 beneficiaries received their second dose at government hospitals and 15,262 beneficiaries received their second jab at private hospitals in the district.

With a regular supply of vaccine doses, Pune district on September 7 inoculated 190,398 beneficiaries. On Tuesday, around 75.4 per cent of beneficiaries were in the age group of 18 to 44 years. And 15.7 per cent beneficiaries were from the age group of 45 to 60 years; 7.3 per cent beneficiaries were 60 years of age and above.

Dr Dhananjay Kelkar, medical director at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital, said, “There is a steady flow of second-dose beneficiaries at the hospital. As many beneficiaries have completed 84 days after their first jab, they are coming to the private centres for the second inoculation. As compared to when we started vaccination at our hospital, the overall daily number is the same, but we can see that the second-dose beneficiaries are more in number now as compared to the first-dose beneficiaries. Many citizens are trying for free vaccines at government centres. However, they are also not delaying their vaccination now and choosing a private centre,” said Dr Kelkar.