Vaccination in high-risk districts of Telangana goes sluggish despite surge in COVID-19 cases

HYDERABAD: Even as cases spiral in various border districts of Telangana, the vaccination done in these high-risk districts doesn't seem to have increased correspondingly. For instance, Nirmal district has contributed to about 5 per cent of all cases reported last week - 124 of 2,744 cases in the State.

However, the total vaccinations in this district until now, as per the Government of India CoWIN Dashboard, is just 9,880 - which is roughly 1 per cent of the district’s population of 7.09 lakh (2011 census). 

Similarly, Mahabubabad, with 79 cases reported in the last seven days, contributed to 3 per cent of the State’s tally. However, only 11,847 in the district were vaccinated. The total population of the district is 7.74 lakh.

As per officials, a majority of districts apart from Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Medchal have about 1-2 lakh population who are eligible for priority vaccination. However, despite such small targets, the district’s have given themselves nearly four months to cover the priority group.

"In consultation with district collectors, the timeline to vaccinate the priority group is 120 days. It is not feasible to set shorter timelines as there are not many private hospitals in some districts and the permissions to extend vaccination to CHCs and PHC’s has not been given yet. There is some level of reluctance and confusion around the use of the CoWIN app as well, which is leading to lesser turnout," said a district health official.

As per an analysis by Rijo M John, a health economist, Telangana is third lowest in the country in terms of vaccinating its population, with only 1.60 per cent vaccinated with at least one dose.