A healthcare worker administers a dose of Covid-19 vaccine to a beneficiary, at Gateway of India, in Mumbai. (PTI/File)Amid the apprehension of a possible fourth wave of Covid-19, there has been a 76 per cent increase in the number of precautionary or booster doses being administered in the 18-59 age group in 15 days of June across Maharashtra.
Official figures show that between June 6 and June 20, 2,37,814 people in the 18-59 age group had taken booster shots, pushing up the administration of third shots to 5,50,006 from 3,12,192 in 15 days.
During this period, the state also witnessed a surge of 15 per cent in the demand of booster doses for senior citizens. On June 6, 16,85,955 beneficiaries took the booster and within 15 days, the figure surged to 19,36,535.
This sudden demand for boosters coincided with a six-fold rise in daily Covid-19 cases across Maharashtra. “…Amid the blip or you can say a surge in cases, the demand for boosters has naturally gone up, especially among the elderly and with comorbidities,” said Dr Vasant Nagvekar, co-director, Infectious Diseases, Sir H N Reliance Foundation Hospital.
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The state has been pushing to increase vaccination coverage among the elderly through the Har Ghar Dastak 2.0 campaign that began earlier this month.
“Despite the arrival of monsoon, our health workers are trying to reach far-off corners in the districts to vaccinate people with the third dose. With the flattening of the pandemic curve, the villagers were hesitant earlier but now, they are showing eagerness to get the booster dose,” said Dr Govind Chaudhari, district health officer of Nandurbar, which has the lowest vaccine coverage rate in the state.
However, there are still around 1.37 crore people who haven’t taken their scheduled second jab in the state. Pune tops the chart with 13 lakh such beneficiaries, followed by Thane (9.28 lakh) and Mumbai (8.95 lakh).
“Many people have still not taken their booster shots, which is why we need to get the message across that vaccines can save lives. There is enough data to prove that vaccines are one of the most important strategies to prevent severe illness and mortality. We need to understand their importance and convince people to take precautionary doses so that the virus can be controlled,” said Dr Rahul Pandit, a member of the Covid-19 task force.
Doctors have observed that though vaccination doesn’t provide protection against infection but it does help in containing the severity, lowering the mortality rate.
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