Gujarat: 2/3rd senior citizens get booster dose, only 1.5% in paid category

AHMEDABAD: At the time when Covid cases are rearing its head again across India including Gujarat, the state is witnessing sluggish pace of booster doses especially in the paid category. Out of total eligible population above 60 years, nearly two-thirds have got the jab. in sharp contrast, only 1.5% of those eligible in 18-60 years have taken booster shot which is not offered free by government and has to be taken in private hospital for a fee, said sources in the state health department officials.
Gujarat has covered 99% of 18-plus population with two shots. It has so far administered 34.88 precaution (booster) doses, out of which 32.95 lakh or 94% of the doses are administered to senior citizens alone, they added.

While the health department officials did not divulge the exact figures of the percentage of new cases with full vaccination, they said that the ‘significant’ number of cases is in the working age group of 18 to 50 years and almost all of them are fully vaccinated. Thus, the importance of booster doses increases for the vulnerable population.
While the booster dose is free for the healthcare workers (HCW), frontline workers (FLW) and senior citizens, it costs Rs 225 plus service charge for 18-60 years in the private hospitals.
On Tuesday, Gujarat recorded a 95-day high daily tally of 72 new Covid cases – out of the total, 44 or 61% of the cases were from Ahmedabad city alone. With discharge of 53 patients, the active cases in Gujarat reached 363, which is the highest in 81 days. The cases are constantly above 50 for the past four days. To put the figure in perspective, the daily cases were mostly in single digit between March 27 and April 7, giving hopes that the pandemic might be over for the state.
Nearly two thirds of senior citizens given booster doses
Dr Nayan Jani, state immunization officer, said that out of 50 lakh-odd eligible senior citizens, nearly two-thirds are provided the precaution doses. “Special drives were conducted recently across the state to identify the potential beneficiaries and provide them the vaccine. According to the policy, the booster dose for those not falling in HCW, FLW or senior citizen category would have to avail it from the recognized vaccination centres after payment,” he said.
Dr Bharat Gadhvi, president of Ahmedabad Hospitals and Nursing Homes Association (AHNA), said that several of the city-based private hospitals have procured sufficient doses of vaccines in hope that the citizens would come forward for vaccination.
“I don’t think that money is the only matter. It’s true that the response in free vaccination is far better than what we see at our centres – we hardly see 10-20 individuals coming daily for the vaccines. But I think that the reason lies in the low number of cases and even lower number of hospitalizations compared to what we have seen in the past couple of years,” he said, adding that the majority of those getting the jabs are those who are traveling or have medical procedures approaching.