E-Paper
38% young beneficiaries take jabs on opening day in Bihar
PATNA: Around 38% of the total beneficiaries vaccinated against coronavirus during the day in Bihar belonged to the age cohort of 45-59 years , as the government opened the vaccination window for them on Thursday
PATNA: Around 38% of the total beneficiaries vaccinated against coronavirus during the day in Bihar belonged to the age cohort of 45-59 years , as the government opened the vaccination window for them on Thursday.
A total 68,911 out of the total 1,81,799 people who took the jab on Thursday belonged to the 45-59 years of age as there was enthusiasm in this age group to take the shot.
Bihar had on Wednesday vaccinated 91,339 people of which 13% (12,116) belonged to those in the 45-59 years of age group with co-morbidity. The increase in the number of beneficiaries in this age group on Thursday helped Bihar achieve total vaccination of 30.16 lakh beneficiaries so far of which people in the 45-59 years age group contributed to 3 lakh, according to government data released on Thursday.
There was heavy rush of middle-aged beneficiaries at the Gardiner Road hospital around income-tax roundabout, in the heart of the state capital.
Many younger beneficiaries complained that it took a long time to take the shot and they had to wait in long queues especially at the Gardiner Road Hospital.
The vaccinators, on the other hand, claimed that the CoWIN portal was slow as a result of which uploading document and verification took time.
“I had registered for vaccination online 15 days back, but authorities at the hospital took no note of it. I was handed a slip and made to wait for a long duration when I came to the Gardiner Road hospital to take the jab today,” said Sunil Sinha.
Health authorities said they would look into the issue and issue specific instructions to the centre in-charge to accord priority to those who pre-book online.
“We will look into it. Those who pre-book online should be accorded priority in vaccination,” said Manoj Kumar, executive director of the State Health Society, Bihar, also the state nodal officer for vaccination.
On the rush at the Gardiner Road hospital, Kumar said, “We will have to mobilise other nearby facilities like the Loknayak Jaya Prakash Narayan Hospital and the Shastrinagar urban primary health centre for vaccination to prevent crowding at one place.”
Bihar aims to achieve at least 2 lakh vaccinations in a day with the opening of vaccination for the 45-59 year age group. It achieved 1.81 lakh on the opening day Thursday.
The state was now left with 6 lakh doses of vaccine. It expects to receive an additional 8 lakh doses on Friday after having received 33 lakh doses of the vaccine since the commencement of the COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16. The state has a target group of 1.80 crore people in the 45-59 years age group.
