BHUBANESWAR: Even as both the Central and State governments have once again raised the red flag over Covid-19 in view of the rising Covid cases in Delhi and several other states, lack of interest among the general population in Odisha to take the precautionary dose has become a cause of major concern.
While the next four to five weeks are crucial in determining the impact of the new surge, health experts have called upon people to take precautionary doses urgently to keep them protected from the severity of the infection.
Director of Health Services Dr Bijay Mohapatra said immunity reduces with time, and people with comorbidities in any age group are vulnerable to more severe disease. “Usually cases rise in Odisha a month after the Delhi surge. The risk perception could be responsible for such a low demand as the transmission is at an all time low. All vaccinated people who had their second dose nine months back should immediately take the precautionary dose,” he said.
So far, 5,77,878 people above 60 years and only 6,278 people in the age bracket of 45-59 years and 2,647 people in the age group of 18-44 years have taken the third shot in the State. The coverage of booster dose among the healthcare and frontline workers is also not encouraging as around 50 per cent (pc) of the vaccinated population have so far received the shot in the last three months. The Centre has also flagged the low booster coverage in Odisha and asked the State government to accelerate the process.
Senior internal medicine specialist Dr Niroj Kumar Mishra, who is tracking the pandemic for the last two years, said the two new sub-variants of Omicron - BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1 are behind the recent surge in the US and Delhi as they are 23 pc to 27 pc more transmissible than BA.2.
“Though we need not panic, we must step up measures. The Health department should immediately intensify awareness drives to convey people about the importance of booster dose. Once the awareness improves, people will realise that the booster protects against severe illness and ultimately the coverage will enhance,” he added.
Senior microbiologist Dr Tribhuban Mohan Mohapatra said the gap of precautionary dose should be brought down from nine months to six months by when the vaccine-induced immunity declines in human body. “The demand is low due to the paid jab at private vaccination centres for the 18-plus population. The government-funded programme can be thought of for better coverage,” he suggested.