Several elderly residents want shots at home

As per Delhi’s electoral roll last revised on January 15 this year, around 1.22 million people are in the age bracket of 60-69 years, 0.67 million are aged 70-79, and 0.23 million aged over 80 years. As of June 2, the number of people vaccinated in the 60+ category stood at 1.03 million.

Padma Ranganathan, a 100-year-old resident of Saket, is finding it difficult to get vaccinated. The centenarian is homebound due to age-related ailments and mobility issues. Ranganathan’s daughter Reena Ramachandran said her mother has not stepped out of the house since the outbreak of Covid-19.

A health worker gives a dose of COVID-19 vaccine to a senior citizen at a vaccination centre in New Delhi. (PTI Photo )

“My mother is going to be 101 shortly and lives alone with a caretaker. She lives on the first floor and movement is a problem for her. For the past one year, we have not allowed any visitors and she is in quarantine. However, this cannot continue forever. She needs to get the vaccine,” said Ramachandran.

She said the current mechanism of vaccination was not conducive for disabled or elderly people, who cannot visit vaccination sites easily.

“The system needs to devise methods to reach out to the vulnerable section of our society. Some states are already doing home vaccination. It’s not a very novel idea for the country,” said Ramachandran. She said nearly 52% of her colony’s residents are senior citizens, which necessitated vaccination on an urgent basis. “These include families where both partners are bedridden and have not been vaccinated. If the administration is not able to vaccinate a section of people in an area, then how will the immunisation process be successful? By leaving out people, the virus gets a window to mutate and multiply,” she said.

Ramachandran’s mother is among several people who are homebound due to age-related ailments, and are yet to get vaccinated. Besides underlying health issues, that many of the elderly live alone also becomes a factor that prevents them from visiting vaccination centres.

As per Delhi’s electoral roll last revised on January 15 this year, around 1.22 million people are in the age bracket of 60-69 years, 0.67 million are aged 70-79, and 0.23 million aged over 80 years. As of June 2, the number of people vaccinated in the 60+ category stood at 1.03 million.

Major (retd) Ranjit Singh, president of the Defence Colony RWA, which is home to many senior citizens, said the association was trying to work on a mechanism of vaccinating old people at home in collaboration with a private hospital.

“At least 40% of the population in our colony are above 60,” said Singh.

Preeti Johar, CEO of Family of Disabled, said her organisation has been receiving requests from people who cannot visit vaccination centres.

“People with severe muscular dystrophy and other ailments need to be vaccinated at home. In fact, people with disabilities need to be prioritised,” she said.