E-Paper
Close to 3.83 million eligible beneficiaries in Pune district yet to get first dose
Pune: Though Pune has been receiving a much higher vaccine dose than the rest of the smaller districts in the division and the rest of the state, almost 44% of the eligible beneficiaries are yet to get the first shot
Pune: Though Pune has been receiving a much higher vaccine dose than the rest of the smaller districts in the division and the rest of the state, almost 44% of the eligible beneficiaries are yet to get the first shot. The shortage of vaccine and the vaccine hesitancy in a significant number of people has resulted in a much larger portion of people yet to get the vaccine. Close to 3.83 million people are yet to get the first dose, according to the health officials.
About 1.1 million eligible beneficiaries in Pune city, 0.9 million in PCMC and 1.8 million in rural Pune are yet to get their first shot which is about 40% of the eligible population from the district. This despite the fact that Pune gets a major chunk of the available vaccines. Most of the beneficiaries who are yet to get the vaccine belong to the 18-45% who are also the least fully vaccinated age group as only 4% of the 18-45 age group people are fully vaccinated. The estimated eligible population is based on the 2011 census which estimates that 3.33 million people are eligible to get the vaccine in the city, 1.83 million in PCMC and 3.60 million in PCMC.
Dr Sanjay Deshmukh, district immunisation officer said, “Our potential is to vaccinate many more people than the stock that we are getting now. We can vaccinate 1.5 people in a day if we get enough doses. Our demand is much more than the supply. We are supplying vaccines as much as possible as per the government guidelines to the age groups and the gap criteria between two doses.” Since the beginning of August this year, the Pune civic body had to shut down its vaccination centres on multiple days due to shortage of vaccines. Even as the economy opens up, many in the workforce belonging to the age group between 18-45, are yet to get even their first dose.
