Gurgaon: In the five days since vaccinations began for the 60-plus population and those above 45 with
comorbidities, there has been a huge difference in their turnouts. Till Saturday, 11,375 people over the age of 60 had got their first jabs. In contrast, only 1,129 recipients between 45 and 59 years of age with comorbid conditions have been administered the
Covid-19 vaccine.
There are two factors behind this. One, only 20 comorbidities have been specified by the ministry for getting vaccinated, leaving many with other ailments ineligible. Secondly, several people have found it difficult to get a certificate from a registered medical practitioner.
Some of the listed comorbid conditions are heart failure with hospital admission in the past one year, hypertension or diabetes on treatment, end-stage kidney disease, leukaemia, bone marrow failure/thalassemia major, HIV infection and muscular dystrophy/acid attack with involvement of respiratory system. The tricky part is that hypertension alone doesn’t find a place in the list but is clubbed with other ailments. Neither does diabetes, unless the condition has existed more than 10 years or there are complications.
Mukesh Singh (55), who suffers from hypertension, said he is unable to get a certificate of comorbidity. “I tried going to several session sites in the past two days and was told hypertension alone is not a comorbid condition. This is not fair. I wanted to get the jab so that I could go out. The cases are again going up and I don’t want to get infected,” he told TOI.
At one of the session sites, Rakesh Yadav (49), who has diabetes, got into a heated argument with some
doctors. “I was told that I would have to undergo tests even though I have a prescription for medicines. They are asking me to get a certificate from the doctor I am consulting for diabetes treatment before I can take the vaccine,” a visibly upset Yadav said.
The health department said people should get a certificate of comorbidity from their doctor. “We have shared the document that needs to be filled by a registered medical practitioner. Getting a comorbid certificate on the session site is not possible,” said Dr Virender Yadav, chief medical officer, Gurgaon.
Meanwhile, doctors said they are getting a lot of requests for such certificates but they can’t provide them if they are not fully aware of a person’s medical history.
Dr Amitabh Parti, director, internal medicine, Fortis Memorial Research Institute, said, “Many people are reaching out but not everyone is eligible. We are counselling them as they are becoming impatient to get the vaccine. Some are requesting doctors to sign a comorbid certificate even though they do not meet the criteria.”
Dr Shuchin Bajaj, founder and director, Ujala Cygnus Group of Hospitals, said people should wait for their turn to get vaccinated. “Some people who have had controlled diabetes for a few years or have hypertension are putting up a request even if those are not in the listed comorbidities. Doctors are getting 20 to 30 requests daily,” he said.
Dr Arunesh Kumar, head of department of Paras Chest Institute, Paras Hospital, said, “We are getting many queries from patients about the safety of vaccines. On an average, we are getting about five requests every day for a comorbidity certificate. We issue the certificate only if the person meets the ministry guidelines and criteria.”