Amid demand for Covid vaccines, hesitancy prevails in TN

CHENNAI: While there is a high demand for vaccines on one side in Tamil Nadu, there also seems to be a hesitancy observed across the state.

As of May 17, Tamil Nadu had wastage of about 10 percent of the vaccine doses supplied overall to the state. Out of the 77.49 doses, 69.63 were used, which is 90 percent.

While there could be many factors for vaccine waste such as irregularities in data entry and logistical issues, people's hesitancy to take up vaccines is generally considered as the main reason.

A closer look shows that there is a higher vaccine wastage in at least more than 10 rural health districts (which are different from revenue districts) while there is a marginal hesitancy in some. This indicates that there is a hesitancy among people in these areas to take up the vaccine.

There are 45 health unit districts in the State and among them, 23 districts have used 90 percent or more of the total vaccine supply to the districts.

Vaccine usage across TN

Attur health district has used 99 percent of its supply being top-performing health district, while some like Erode, Vellore, and Nilgris have used 97 percent of its supply. In Trichy, it is 95 percent and 93 percent in Madurai.

While districts like Coimbatore and Chengalpet also feature in the above 90 categories, districts like Chennai have only used 87 percent of their supply, showing a margin increase in hesitancy.

Further, some districts like Thoothukudi have just 74 percent of the vaccine supply, while in Ramanathapuram it is 72 percent, in Aranthangi it is 76 percent, and in Perambalur, 78 percent.

However, in this lot, Chennai has received the lion’s share of the total doses, at 17,17,154 as of May 17.

Health department officials do agree that there has always been a hesitancy among people but there are logistical issues too that keep some people in districts away from getting vaccinated compared to cities.

“In districts, unlike cities, vaccine centers may be far away to commute compared to the cities. In times of lockdown, the access too may not be there. We are working to take the vaccines to the doorsteps of people through special camps,” sources in the health department on condition of anonymity said.

Officials said that there needs to be an increase in awareness in cities as well. “In Chennai too, there was a strong hesitancy in the beginning, but now it is becoming better,” the official pointed out.

However, public health experts say that multiple factors come into play when the data shows lesser usage of the vaccine in certain districts.

Former Director of Public Health Dr K Kolandasamy says that in districts which have a sparse population, the vaccine performance may be lower, compared to those with a dense population.

“Apart from this, in some cases, as part of ethical practice, vaccines may have been used for vulnerable and comorbid candidates not falling into the eligible age-bracket but it would not have been registered in CoWin,” adds Dr. Kolandasamy, pointing out that a juvenile diabetic is in more danger to Covid than a healthy 50-year-old.

He adds that the authorities may prioritise densely populated areas and focus only on vulnerable populations in sparsely populated areas.