Karnataka: 84% college pupils have taken first dose of vax

BENGALURU: ‘Marali Collegige’ (Back to College), Karnataka’s ambitious programme to vaccinate all its college-going students against Covid-19, has achieved 84% coverage. The drive kicked off on June 28 with the aim of inoculating over 24 lakh students. As on August 4, more than 19 lakh students have got at least one dose of the vaccine, official data accessed by TOI shows.
Bengaluru City has recorded nearly 80% coverage, but three districts have recorded far lower coverage than average: Bengaluru Urban (45%), Vijayapura (51%) and Mysuru (61%). Students from other states who have come to Karnataka for academic purposes are also being covered, say officials.
On-campus classes began in the state on July 26 and only vaccinated students are allowed to attend.
More than 100%
In some districts, the coverage has gone beyond 100%. In Bagalkot for example, data shows 67,156 students have taken the dose as against a target of 59,723 students. Ditto with 12 other districts — Chamarajanagar, Udupi, Uttara Kannada, Haveri, Kodagu, Mandya, Davanagere, Chitradurga, Raichur, Hassan, Gadag and Chikkaballapura — where coverage of first dose among college students is more than 100%.
Asked how this is possible, officials involved in the exercise say: “Many students who have not yet returned to their campuses have taken doses in their hometowns or villages in other districts.”
Officials also said the targets in several districts were revised downwards and the actual performance is not as bad as the data makes it appears. Health department officials in Vijayapura say the target was changed at least thrice, and they have vaccinated almost all eligible students.
Supply crunch
Dr Rajkumar Yargal, district health officer (DHO), Vijayapura, indicated all students would have been inoculated had supply of doses been adequate. “We have to prioritise areas bordering neighbouring states along with vaccinating eligible people including college students. We need a higher supply of doses to organise and plan camps,” said Dr Yargal.
Dr Srinivas GS, DHO, Bengaluru Urban district, said many students in rural areas of Bengaluru Urban district had already taken the vaccine in Bengaluru hospitals but their vaccination status was not reflected in the data the state has on vaccinated students. “Currently, we have 99% coverage among students,” said Dr Srinivas.
CN Ashwath Narayan, minister for higher education, said there are some students who have taken vaccines in private hospitals on their own and this data is not reflected in data with the state. “Projection itself could be more like in Ramanagara district. The data was collated from college managements. If any district has shown poor coverage, we will follow it up,” he said.
The minister said students are given the option to continue with online classes if they wish, but attendance has been made compulsory irrespective of whether students take classes online or on-campus.