‘You will have to do your best to achieve target’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, nudged districts with less than 50 per cent vaccination coverage to “knock every door, engage influencers and religious leaders” to step up Covid vaccination, as India enters its post 100 crore vaccination phase with the Har Ghar Dastak (Knock on Every Doorstep) programme.

Interacting with the Chief Ministers and District Magistrates of more than 40 districts in Jharkhand, Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Meghalaya and other States, which have had 50 per cent coverage of the first dose and low coverage of the second dose, the PM said that they have to try harder to achieve targets.

“With the mantra of Har Ghar Dastak, knock on every door, every household lacking the security net of a double dose of vaccine will be approached. Develop micro strategies, keeping in mind the experience so far to go for saturation of vaccination by addressing gaps at the local level,” said the PM.

He said each unvaccinated or half-vaccinated person has to be contacted, and the administration should seek the help of local religious leaders who have been advocating vaccination. He said the administration has to work harder.

“You will have to do your best to take your districts nearer the national average,” said the PM.

State-wise performance

Among the bigger States, Maharashtra has completed the first dose in more than 51 per cent of the districts, but the second dose is above 45 per cent only in three to four districts. The State vaccination average is 74 per cent, said a source.

“The low vaccination coverage in Maharashtra has been due to harvesting, heavy rainfall and festival season, which came at the same time,” said a Health Ministry source.

In Andhra Pradesh, the first dose coverage is more than 50 per cent in all the districts. In Rajasthan, the first dose coverage is above 70 per cent in all the districts.

The average of second dose coverage in the State is about 47 per cent, but there are many districts where the second dose coverage is very low. Uttar Pradesh has done 66.5 per cent of the first dose, but only 22 per cent of the second dose has been administered. “People are not coming in for a second dose because of the festive season and the unlikely occurrence of the third wave. People seem to be hopeful that the third wave will not come. Also, in the tribal belt, there is vaccine hesitancy and also the awareness level is low,” said a source, hoping that the second dose coverage will increase post Diwali.

‘Vaccine hesitancy high’

In Haryana, there are 18 districts like Nuh, where the second dose coverage is as low as 8 per cent. “The problem in Haryana is not access, but poor administrative practices. Also, vaccine hesitancy is quite high,” said sources.

An area of concern is the north-east, where vaccine hesitancy, administrative issues and hard-to-reach districts make the coverage fall short. There are 6 such districts in Arunachal Pradesh – Kra Daadi, Kurung Kumey, Upper Subansiri, Kamle, Lower Subansiri and East Kameng – where the first dose coverage is between 18 to 42 per cent.

“Efforts are going on to track those who have not yet taken their first dose. We are also trying to figure out those who have not yet approached for their second dose,” said a source.

In Manipur there are 8 districts – Kangokpi, Ukhrul, Kanjong, Senapati, Pherzawl, Tamenglong, Noney, Tamenglong and Tengnoupal – where the first dose vaccination coverage is between 17-43 per cent. The same issues plague vaccination coverage in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland.