Post Covid-19, PMC’s vasectomy drive proves a success

PUNE About 11 men underwent vasectomy in January as compared to 46 who underwent vasectomy between April and December 2021, and 40 who underwent the surgery in 2020-21

PUNE About 11 men underwent vasectomy in January as compared to 46 who underwent vasectomy between April and December 2021, and 40 who underwent the surgery in 2020-21. The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) had launched a special vasectomy drive in January 2022 after operations were affected due to the Covid-19 induced lockdown. According to civic health officials, a younger population is now responding to vasectomy surgeries as compared to previous years.

In January 2022 the drive was launched at five civic hospitals. About 11 men underwent vasectomy in January as compared to 46 who underwent vasectomy between April and December 2021. (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

As per the PMC health department, in January 2022 when the drive was launched at five civic hospitals: three each underwent vasectomy at Sutar hospital and Kashinath Dhankawade hospital; two each at Kamala Nehru hospital and Rajmata Jijau hospital; and one at Meenatai Thackeray hospital. A total 11 people underwent the surgery in January alone under the special drive; as compared to 46 undergoing the procedure between April and December 2021; 40 in 2020-21; 99 in 2019-2020; and 65 in 2018-2019 - at both private and civic hospitals in the city. The drive that is conducted annually could not be held in the last two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic and most hospitals diverting their services to treat Covid-19 patients.

Dr Vaishali Jadhav, assistant health officer, PMC, said, “We can say that this camp was a success because within a month despite the third wave at its peak in January, we got 11 vasectomy operations done in just five civic hospitals. The annual camp was affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic as all our hospitals were engaged. However this time, we got a lot of responses and surprisingly, we also saw that many young people even from IT came forward to inquire about vasectomy and underwent the surgery as well. Earlier, the family planning burden was completely on the woman and now the load, if not completely, is shifting towards the male population as well. The procedure takes just a few minutes and the man can return to his normal routine but a woman who undergoes tubectomy has to take bed rest for days. Rumours about decreased stamina are the primary reason why men hesitate to undergo the surgery.”