CHENNAI: In a move to take COVID-19 vaccination to the last mile, the Chennai Corporation is set to begin vaccination camps in each of the 200 wards of the city. Officials said the move would help to localise vaccination further and improve coverage.
"We have decided to open vaccination camps in every ward of the city. Vaccination was done in 47 places of the city so far excluding special camps and now, another 200 places will be added permanently," a senior corporation official told The New Indian Express.
The official said the places where these camps would be held is yet to be finalised but they would be kept at an accessible location for the public. It may be recalled that in the past, the corporation undertook various measures such as special camps for apartments, busy market areas and workplaces to boost coverage.
As of August 22, a total of 36.49 lakh doses have been given to people in Chennai. Of this, about 25.14 lakh people have received at least the first dose of the vaccination, which is about 30 percent of the city's population. However, compared to other metros, Chennai is lagging behind in people vaccinated.
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During the same period, Kolkata has administered 52.96 lakh doses, Mumbai has administered 86.65 lakhs doses, Bangalore has administered 96.16 lakh doses while Delhi tops with 1.22 crore doses.
While Chennai has 95 percent of vaccine performance against supply, the lower vaccination largely is associated with the inadequate supply given to the city. Public health experts said that vaccinating 30 percent of people will not be enough and the coverage needs to be improved.
Virologist Dr Jacob John said at least 50 percent of the population must be vaccinated to safely say that a large-scale outbreak may not happen. "30 percent is less. Of this 30 percent, we also do not know if people are evenly vaccinated in all parts of the city. So we cannot rule out a huge outbreak at this point," he said.
Dr John said that giving two doses of vaccines is important but overall the city is on the right track with measures taken for vaccination.
Former Director of Public Health Dr K Kolandasamy said that even though there's a 30 percent coverage for a single dose, there must be a hundred percent coverage in at least the high-risk people such as pregnant and lactating mothers, comorbid patients, and senior citizens.
"An improvement in vaccination coverage would delay the third wave and also prevent those at high risk from getting affected even if there's a third wave," he said.
Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi said there is a long way to go in terms of vaccination and the civic body aims to cover 100 percent of the eligible people. "The ward-level vaccination camps will help in improving the vaccination process," he said.
Meanwhile, Chennai also vaccinated 500 senior citizens on August 22 at their houses, under the new drive.