Over 50% in Lucknow have taken at least 1 dose of vaccine

LUCKNOW: Over 50% of Lucknow district’s adult population has now taken at least a dose of Covid-19 vaccine, eight months after the mass immunisation drive began on January 16. This means every second eligible person above 18 years of age has taken the two-dose vaccine course.
District’s adult population is around 36 lakh. Of these, 18.09 lakh persons have been administered at least a dose so far.


However, overall, only 16% (5.9 lakh) of the adult population are fully immunised with two doses, while 12.1 lakh have received a shot and are waiting for the second dose. This also means that about 18 lakh have not taken any dose so far.
Health department officials said there is nothing to worry as of now because the vaccination campaign is going on in full swing. Besides, in the recent serological survey, antibodies have been found in 55-60% of the adult population of the state capital.
Chief medical officer Dr Manoj Agrawal said, “As nearly 50% of the population has got inoculated with at least a dose and a large number of people have natural antibodies, we are well equipped to tackle probable third wave of Covid-19.” However, further he said that everyone must continue to follow Covid control protocols.
A government epidemiologist emphasised on covid appropriate behaviour. “Once a virus enters into a vaccinated host it’s attacked by antibodies. Antibodies neutralize most of the copies of the virus. However, during the fight against the immune system virus evolves and becomes stronger. If this stronger variant finds a new unvaccinated host it might be fatal,” he said.
“Vaccination can reduce mortality by providing protection against critical illness, but cannot stop a person from contracting infection. Therefore, like all the passengers coming on air are being tested, travelers coming to the city through bus, train or private vehicles from high case load areas must be tested through RT PCR test,” he recommended.
Ex-head microbiology department Institute of Medical Sciences, BHU, Dr Anil Kumar Gulati said, “Cases are rising in the United States and other European countries despite the fact that a large section of the population there has been fully vaccinated. Recently, a woman died due to delta plus variant in Maharashtra. Therefore, we cannot let our guard drop.”