Vax hesitancy hinders coverage in north Maharashtra

NASHIK: The latest data on Covid-19 vaccination shows that the five districts of North Maharashtra have coverage much below the state average.
On November 17, the state average of vaccination of the first dose is over 76% and it is nearly 39% for the second dose. The vaccination in Nashik, Ahmednagar, Dhule, Jalgaon and Nandurbar districts is significantly lower than it. In fact, Nandurbar is ranked at the bottom in the state.
Nandurbar’s district health officer Dr Mahendra Chavan said they were hoping that vaccine coverage improves with the door-to-door drive. “We are aiming to vaccinate 70% of the beneficiaries with at least the first dose by this month-end,” he added. The health authorities from the region have blamed ‘vaccine hesitancy’ for the low coverage. In Nashik city, the health department officials said that beneficiaries of some pockets are still not keen to take the vaccine. In Nashik district, a sizeable population of Malegaon is yet to take their first dose.
Covid-19 coordinator of Dhule, Dr Vishal Patil, said that people are not forthcoming to take their shots as the cases have reduced and things are back to normal.
Jalgaon civil surgeon Dr N S Chavan said even they have started a door-to-door vaccination programme.