CHENNAI: Many healthcare staff including nurses and some doctors kept away from the Covid vaccination drive on the inaugural day in Tamil Nadu.
Doctors at Stanley GH said that they managed to vaccinate only about two nurses out of the 25 registered nurses, while health department officials noted that many healthcare staff restrained from vaccination.
Express also visited the Stanley GH and spoke to the nurses, who said that they would wait till the other doctors get the vaccination, while some said that they were facing pressure from families to not get vaccination on day 1.
“My family is not agreeing for me to go forward with the vaccination. I would wait for some more time till other doctors go ahead with the vaccination,” a nurse, on condition of anonymity at Stanley GH said.
Another nurse pointed out that they were unsure about the consequences of the vaccines and hence they wanted to wait. “We just want to wait for a few more days and we would definitely take the vaccine then,” said a nurse, seeking anonymity.
Similarly, sources in government hospitals said that many doctors have taken a long vacation for Pongal and were not sure when they would return.
“Some doctors have taken a long vacation. We don’t know whether it is to avoid vaccination drive or not. Many doctors too are yet to take the vaccination,” a doctor with Stanley GH said.
Some of the PG students, who Express spoke with at the campus, too said they do not know when they would want to take the vaccine. Many refrained from enrolment.
Dean of Stanley GH Dr. P Balaji said that the vaccination drive would get a boost once the doctors return from Pongal vacation. "We will continue to raise awareness among the healthcare workers," he said.
Data from the Tamil Nadu health department shows that out of the 1200 vaccination capacity, 310 people have been vaccinated on Saturday, while out of the 16,000 total capacity in Tamil Nadu, about 2684 were vaccinated which is about 16.77 percent.
Health Secretary Dr J Radhakrishnan said that it was observed that many staff refrained from vaccination at the secondary healthcare institutions than the primary healthcare institutions.
“We don’t go by a daily vaccination target. Our vaccination drive is based on demand,” said Dr Radhakrishnan.
He pointed out that leading doctors have taken the vaccine on day 1 while the health department would expand the vaccination drive in the coming days.
“Our main focus on day 1 was to ensure there were no adverse effects and we are not pressured by the daily target approach,” Radhakrishnan said.