Health department to launch drive to give free Covid-19 booster shots

MYSURU: With the government announcing free booster doses from July 15 at all government facilities, the health department is preparing to launch a special drive to administer precautionary doses for all age groups.
The district recorded a poor response for paid precautionary doses. Only 66% of the beneficiaries received the vaccination against the targeted 2.6 lakh individuals.
Health officials said in the first place people are unworried about the covid after taking two doses of vaccines and are avoiding taking precautionary doses. Secondly, since the dose was paid which is another reason people are not coming forward. Government stopped giving precautionary doses at its facilities except for senior citizens and fixed a price of Rs 225 for precautionary doses at private hospitals.
District health officer Dr KH Prasad said the response for precautionary doses has been poor among both the age groups 18 to 59 years and senior citizens above 60 years. Only 28% of the senior citizens have received precautionary doses in the district. Almost all the frontline workers, Covid warriors, and health staff have taken the dose. “I too have taken a precautionary dose and people needn’t fear about it,” Prasad stated.
There is information about providing precautionary doses for free for all age groups above 18 years of age and we are awaiting for an official circular in this regard to plan special drives to cover the beneficiaries, explained the DHO.
Bharteesha Reddy NG, unit head of Apollo hospital, said it’s a good decision of the government to give precautionary doses for free. “As a private health care provider, we are giving both Covishield and Covaxin at our centre. The response is less as on average four people are taking the doses every day at our centre. People are charged for the dose as per the government fixed price,” he said.
District vaccination nodal officer Dr MS Jayanth, the RCHO, said Mysuru has achieved the target of vaccinating all the beneficiaries with two-dose of the Covid vaccines but many have not taken precautionary doses. A few senior citizens have been immunized. The covid vaccination drive was launched on January 16, 2021.