Covid: After Centre’s alert, vaccination centres in Ranchi see rise in footfall

RANCHI: Amid a fresh scare of Covid-19 following an alert issued by the Union government of all states earlier this week, vaccination centres in the capital are reporting hike in queries and people turning up for Covid jabs since the last two days, officials involved with vaccination said on Friday. However, the state, including Ranchi, is currently facing scarcity of all vaccine, they added.
Jharkhand’s overall coverage of precautionary dose of all eligible groups stands at a meagre 17% out of the total targeted beneficiaries of 38,28,349 people, a health department bulletin issued on Thursday night stated. In terms of coverage in 18-plus years group, the state has achieved 101% for the first dose while second dose coverage stands at 76%. Among 15-17 year age group, dose one coverage is 66% and that of second dose is 46%, with majority of the districts falling between 30-40% coverage bracket of the second shot. The coverage of 12-14 years group is 67% for first dose and 39% for second dose. Here too, the coverage of second dose in all districts are poor, the bulletin said. But officials are hopeful that coverage will improve amid the fresh scare. On Friday, Ranchi was running 26 vaccination centres.
Helan Lakra, a nurse of Sadar Hospital, said, “Previously, three or four individuals would only visit the centre for enquiries and vaccinations. But in the past two days, the demand has increased dramatically, to the point where the centre’s supply has run out and we have requested more from the hospital. Two days ago, we were unable to use up the doses in one week.”
Omprakash Pandey, city urban manger, Sadar Hospital, said, “The demand for vaccination has surged ever since the news of the global spike in cases spread. Previously, just two or three people would visit the centre, but the demand for booster shots has now gone up.”
Talking to TOI, Dr Asim Manjhi, district nodal officer of vaccination, said, “We have approximately 6,000 doses of Covaxin. However, the doses for Covishield and Corbevax (for children) are out of stock.”