BENGALURU: Each day since Phase 1 of Covid immunisation was launched on January 16, Karnataka has missed its daily target, suggesting that unless the state picks up the slack, the start of Phase 2, scheduled for February 15, may get delayed.Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar had announced that 16 lakh health and frontline staff would be given the jab in the first phase.
Completion of Phase 1 has been delayed due to glitches in the CoWIN app and vaccine hesitancy.
Health department figures show that in the first nine days, the average daily achievement of vaccine beneficiaries covered is 31,486 people. However, the average daily target needs to be 56,574 people (calculated by average of daily targets for 9 days).If the state had vaccinated 56,574 people each day since January 16, it could have covered 16 lakh people in 19 more days.
However, at the current pace, it will take 42 days more to vaccinate all phase 1 workers, and February 15 is only 21 days away, suggesting a possible delay.Bioethics, global health and health policy researcher Dr Anant Bhan said the government can speed up the process. “First, the government must address the glitches on CoWIN.
People need to be told in advance that they will be vaccinated, so that they can turn up, but they are informed at the last minute. Besides, there is a risk attachment of wasting vaccines, wherein vials are open and have to be discarded if people don’t turn up. To address this, if staff at session sites see that people haven’t turned up, those who missed their appointments could be called so that there is no delay,” he said.
Experts with experience in implementing large immunisation programmes say better information, education, and communication (IEC) can address vaccine hesitancy.The government can put up videos on social media of vaccine beneficiaries sharing their experience of taking the shot and being safe, said Dr Ramachandra Bairy, District Health Officer, Dakshina Kannada district. Former deputy director of immunisation in the state, Dr Bairy has experience in carrying out measles and rubella (MR), pentavalent vaccine, polio and rotavirus vaccinations, and Mission Indradhanush, and Intensified Mission Indradhanush.
“Popular doctors must be part of the IEC campaign to remove the fears that people have. For example, in Dakshina Kannada, when leading medical officers or doctors of a health centre refused to take the vaccine, the other staff did not come forward either. The team leader must come forward to get the shot, so that others become confident,” Dr Bairy said.
He also pointed out that medical students whose exams are underway, are avoiding the vaccine as they may be in their respective hometowns when the time to take the booster dose arrives. The two doses are to be taken four weeks apart. “They need to be encouraged to take some time to get the second jab and return to their native places, as they cannot take the second dose in another health centre,” Dr Bairy said. Another doctor in the state who was part of the rabies vaccine trials said that apart from fixing CoWIN glitches, awareness about the safety of the vaccine is the only way forward.