NEW DELHI: Months after the launch, response to the Covid-19 precaution dose vaccination remains languid with just 24 per cent of the adult population covered, officials said. The issue was discussed in a meeting convened by Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Thursday. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal along with top officials and health experts participated in the meeting which was headed by Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena to review the Covid-19 situation.
According to officials, various measures which could help improve coverage were discussed in the meeting. “It was decided to scale the precaution dose vaccination coverage up to 50 per cent as soon as possible,” a senior official said.
Mask mandate to go away
The city government may do away with the mask mandate in public places, and focus on awareness for using them in indoor settings – especially around senior citizens, children and the sickly. The authorities have been asked to intensify the Covid-19 safety awareness among the public. “The Rs 500 fine for not wearing face masks in public may be revoked. However, we will stress upon their use indoors with festival season around the corner,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the authority decided to scale down the hospital resources utilised in Covid-19 management in a “calibrated and phased manner.” The officials cited plateauing of cases and minimal occupancy of sick patients in healthcare institutions behind the move. “Deployment of staff and equipment in hospitals will be scaled down in a calibrated and phased manner. Delhi Government’s health authorities to prepare a plan of action for this,” an official said.
The members in the meeting also discussed enhanced surveillance of ILI- SARI cases (severe acute respiratory infection and influenza-like illness) along with careful analysis of data collected from sewage samples by genome sequencing. “They will be analysed carefully to detect any surge or emergence of new variants of the virus,” said an official.
‘Contradictory statement’
Dr Jugal Kishore, head of community medicine at Safdarjung Hospital, said the decisions by DDMA authorities are contradictory and will lead to confusion among the public. “The decision for scaling the effort for booster shots while doing away with the mask mandate is eventually going to puzzle the public. We can’t emphasise on one part of prevention while making another redundant. This is mixed-messaging to the public,” he said.
Kishore said non-penalising the mask violation right before the festival season when large gatherings are expected makes no sense. “Masks not just help in prevention from Covid-19 transmission but other respiratory illnesses as well,” he said. “If you want to increase vaccination coverage then convey the right evidence and data so that people make an informed decision and get encouraged to take booster doses,” he said.
DEFICIENT IMMUNISATION