CHENNAI: In a bid to take Covid-19 vaccination to the last citizen, the Chennai Corporation will soon begin vaccination camps in each of the 200 wards of the city. Officials said the move would help to localise vaccination further.
“We have decided to provide vaccination in every ward of the city. Vaccination is being done at 47 places of the city so far excluding special camps and now, another 200 places will be added permanently,” a senior official told Express.
The official said the venue of the camps, such as schools or community centres, is yet to be finalised but they would be at a highly accessible location. It can be recalled that in the past, the Corporation had undertaken various measures such as special camps for apartments, busy market areas and workplaces to boost coverage.
As on August 22, 36.49 lakh doses had been given to people in Chennai. About 25.14 lakh people had received at least the first dose, which is about 30% of the population. However, compared to other metros, Chennai is lagging behind. In the same period, Kolkata had administered 52.96 lakh doses, Mumbai 86.65 lakh doses, Bangalore 96.16 lakh and Delhi 1.22 crore.
Chennai’s lower vaccination is largely being blamed on inadequate supply. Public health experts say vaccinating 30 per cent of people will not be enough. Virologist Dr Jacob John said at least 50 per cent of the population must be vaccinated to safely say that a large-scale outbreak may not happen. “Thirty per cent is low. Of this 30%, we also do not know if people are evenly vaccinated in all parts of the city. So we cannot rule out a huge outbreak,” he said. John said administering two doses is important but overall, the city is on a right track with regards to measures taken for vaccination.
Former Director of Public Health Dr K Kolanasamy said that even though there’s 30% coverage for a single dose, there must be 100% coverage of high-risk people. “An improvement in vaccination coverage would delay the third wave and also prevent the high-risk population from getting affected even if there’s a third wave,” he said.
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% of eligible people. “Ward-level vaccination camps will help in improving the process,” he said. Meanwhile, Chennai vaccinated 500 senior citizens on August 22 at their houses under the new drive.