On day one of the fourth phase of vaccination — wherein everyone in the age group of 45 to 59, irrespective of comorbidities, is eligible — there was poor response in the State with just 63,898 persons in that age group coming forward to get the jab till 8.30 p.m.
State health officials, who did not provide a break-up of beneficiaries above 45 in terms of those with and without comorbidities, said a total of 6,87,594 persons in the age group have been vaccinated so far.
Karnataka has a target population of over 80 lakh in this age group and has readied 5,500 vaccination centres to take up the extended drive. Of the total 1.66 crore persons eligible, 70 lakh fall under the category of senior citizens and those aged above 45 with comorbidities.
On Thursday, a similar number of senior citizens — 60,096 — took the shot. With this, 20,13,492 persons aged above 60 have been vaccinated in the State since March 1, which was when the second phase of vaccination was rolled out.
Expecting a rush, the State had extended vaccination services at health and wellness centres and sub-centres. Besides, the State has provided broad guidelines to districts to strategise vaccination through support from all the line departments and NGOs.
State Health Commissioner K.V. Trilok Chandra, who admitted the response was not as good as that shown by senior citizens when the drive was opened up for them, said things should pick up in the next few days. “As per the Centre’s guidelines, vaccination is also being done on Sundays and all holidays. We hope more people will come forward from now on,” he said.