Poor response to booster drive puts Chandrapur admin in a fix

Chandrapur: Poor response to the free booster drive to mark the 75th anniversary of Independence has put the administration in a fix.
District collector Ajay Gulhane held a meeting with the Covid Task Force to discuss the issue.
More than 11.92 lakh are eligible, but only 88,851 have taken the dose. The free booster drive started on July 15. It will end on September 30. Despite the 75-day cushion, people are not turning up at the centres.
“Vaccination is the only remedy against the virus. Once the September 30 deadline ends, people will have to pay from their pockets to get the booster dose,” said Gulhane.
Officials have been instructed to undertake large scale public awareness campaigns about the booster dose in every village.
Vaccination sessions are being organized in villages as well as establishments.
“Government agencies should motivate citizens to take the booster dose. Nodal officers should create public awareness in their respective areas,” Gulhane said.
The collector also instructed the health department to promptly send information about the vaccination session to be organized in their taluka or village to the concerned tehsildar and sub-divisional officers.
According to statistics, 96.49% of citizens have taken the first dose, while 83.06% went for the second dose. Out of 71,746 eligible beneficiaries in the age group of 12 to 14 years, 87.22% took the first dose and 50.89% the second one. Similarly, out of 1.09 lakh beneficiaries in the age group of 15 to 17 years, 69.75% have been vaccinated with the first dose and 46.54% with the second.
Out of the eligible 11.92 lakh, only 7.45% have taken their third dose.