Delhi’s vaccination pace remains slow, drive to open for younger kids today

There were nearly 1 million eligible children in the age group, all of whom have received their first shot while the uptake of the second shot has been slower. The vaccination drive has been thrown open for children between the ages of 12 to 14 years on Wednesday, which may bring up the numbers again.

Officials have said that the drop in the number of people getting immunised in February and March is because Delhi has reached a saturation level in the eligible population. The numbers have been sliding since February, with over 98,000 shots being given just a month ago.

Almost 100 per cent of Delhi residents over the age of 18 years have received their first shot, while over 85 per cent have received the second. Almost 80 per cent of children between the ages of 15 and 18 years have also received their shots. The only group where the uptake remains low is the precaution doses.

So far, more than 449,000 people have received their precaution doses out of 2,40,000 healthcare workers, 3,50,000 frontline workers, and an estimated 3,80,000 people over the age of 60 years with co-morbidities who are eligible for the precaution dose in Delhi.

“Now that there are fewer cases, the threat is not immediate. So, fewer people are coming to take the vaccine, especially the precautionary dose. It is not their priority at the moment,” said an official.

Those above the age of 60 with comorbidities have a 15 times higher risk of getting a breakthrough Covid-19 infection—contracting the virus after hospitalisation—and are 10 times more likely to get hospitalised, a pre-print study by the public health department of Tamil Nadu revealed, proving the need for booster doses for these vulnerable people.