NEW DELHI: The looming scare of Covid-19 eventuality has increased the uptake of booster jabs. While the lull remains at the private hospitals, the government Covid vaccination centres are registering rising figures.
According to official data, on December 24, the overall vaccination in a day crossed 2,000 inoculations for the first time in the last 30 days. That day, the inoculation recorded was 2,139. Of them, precaution dose contributed 1,681.
“On an average, the figures of daily inoculations oscillated between 700 and 900. However, we are seeing a gradual increase these days since the Covid-19 is back in the news. The rise is witnessed in government vaccination centres so far,” a senior official from the health department said.
Official data showed that the gradual increase in inoculations started from the past two-three days, mostly driven by the precaution doses. As many as 1,516 doses were administered on December 22. The figure was 1,482 on December 23. Of them, 1,238 and 1,212 booster jabs were administered on December 22 & 23 respectively.
However, private hospitals said that they are yet to see the increased footfall at their Covid vaccination centres. Vibhu Talwar, Managing Director, Moolchand Hospital, said the inoculations are still abysmal at his and other private sites, even though a lot of queries have been coming for the booster shots.
“Mostly, the queries are for the upcoming ‘incovacc’ vaccine developed by Bharat Biotech. There were few queries about available booster jabs also but it has not translated into actions. The vaccination figure remains low,” he added.