A little less than half the number of people scheduled to get the Covid-19 vaccine jabs on Tuesday turned up at their designated centres, prompting some hospitals to ask the head of departments to take the shot themselves and motivate those working under them.
With 4,936 beneficiaries receiving the shot, Delhi saw the highest turnout in terms of absolute numbers on Tuesday.
However, the number only accounted for 48.75% of the 10,125 health care workers who were scheduled to get the jabs, with the government having increased the number of beneficiaries each of the 81 sites could vaccinate, data seen by HT suggested.
In comparison, 4,319 people had received the jab on Saturday – the day the nation-wide roll-out happened – accounting for 53.3% of the beneficiaries selected to receive the vaccine.
On Tuesday, the turnout was much higher for the centres administering Serum Institute’s Covishield – 50.6% — when compared to the centres administering Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin – 27.4%, as per data.
With more centres administering Covishield, 15 of the 16 adverse reactions noticed were in those who received the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot on Tuesday. All the adverse events were minor ones such as rashes, headaches, and fever.
In the three days since launch, 12,853 health care workers have taken the shots, out of a targeted 26,397, records showed.
{{/usCountry}}In the three days since launch, 12,853 health care workers have taken the shots, out of a targeted 26,397, records showed.
{{/usCountry}}Delhi’s health minister Satyendar Jain on Tuesday said, “The current turnout is not low if one compares it with other states and the overall average in the country. Confidence building will take some time. The Delhi government is leaving no stones unturned in confidence building drives and increasing the turnout ratio in vaccination centres.”
On Tuesday, the CoWIN app was tweaked, allowing the ‘add beneficiary’ option to incorporate walk-in immunisation for registered health care worker.
Max hospital, Saket, and BL Kapur hospital both saw 100% immunisation on Tuesday. The number of people who received the vaccine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences jumped to 55 on Tuesday from just eight a day ago.
Hospitals that have consistently seen low turnout, like Guru Teg Bahadur hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality hospital , asked its senior faculty members to come forward and take the shot.
“The hospital has issued a circular asking senior doctors and administrators to take the shot and motivate those working under them also to take it. Four of the senior doctors from the hospital received the shot today. This should instil confidence about the vaccine, among others,” said a senior doctor from Guru Teg Bahadur hospital, which had seen 24 people being vaccinated on Monday and 28 on Tuesday.