Over 9 lakh yet to get second dose of Covid vaccine in Pune district, say officials

Pune city health officials said concerted efforts have been made to reach out to approximately 2.5 to 3 lakh people who are due for the second shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“So far, 1.10 lakh have taken the second dose and another 1.60 lakh are remaining,” said Dr Suryakant Deokar, city immunisation officer. “However, either the mobile phones are shut or it is estimated that they have taken the second shot at a different place,” he added.

Health officials in the district also did not rule out the likelihood of people having registered for both doses through different mobile numbers. “In such a case, the CoWin portal would show partially vaccinated,” said an official. However, this issue has been addressed by introducing the option of “raising an issue” and “merging multiple first dose provisional certificates” on the CoWin portal, they added.

Meanwhile, a state health department report till February 2 shows around 93 lakh people in Maharashtra are yet to take the second dose of Covishield and another 18 lakh have to be administered with the second shot of Covaxin.

Overall, 14.8 crore vaccine doses have been administered in the state, Dr Pradeep Vyas state additional chief secretary health Maharashtra said. “The general narrative is that Covid is over and symptoms at best are mild. Both are not correct and we are trying our best to convince beneficiaries to take the vaccine shot,” Dr Vyas told The Indian Express.

Dr Sachin Desai, state immunisation officer, also admitted to the hesitancy among people and said that apart from home visits they have also started daily calls to those who are due for the dose. “The number of beneficiaries due for the second dose has definitely reduced in December last year and January this year,” Dr Desai said. He added that they have made a list and are educating people to take the second shot.

Around 83 lakh yet to get first dose

State health officials said there are at least 83 lakh people above the age of 18 who are yet to take the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. They added there are more than six lakh people each in Nashik, Nanded and Jalgaon who are yet to get their first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine.

Thane has a maximum number of 9.90 lakh people, who have yet to get the first dose of the vaccine. In Ahmednagar and Aurangabad too, there are more than five lakh beneficiaries who have to take the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the state health department report.