After a relatively slow start, the Covid-19 vaccination sites in New Delhi are registering a participation rate of almost 100%, and a number of people have registered for the vaccine on the spot. As part of the ongoing vaccination campaign in the city, more than 13 lakh people have received at least one dose of the Covid vaccine until Wednesday.
On Wednesday, the city vaccinated 41,412 beneficiaries until 6 p.m., of which 33,867 people received their first dose of the vaccine. Of this total number, 10,119 were people over the age of 60; 22,951 were between 45 and 59 years old; 468 were health care and 329 were frontline workers. The drop in the number of vaccinations was attributed to the lower number of sessions, as the dispensary sites were not functional on Wednesday.
As of Tuesday, the city had vaccinated 84,213 beneficiaries until 10 p.m. And 25% of the injections were given in private hospitals, while 75% in public hospitals.
“While the vaccination program is open to everyone over 45, the participation rate in vaccination centers has improved considerably. For more than two consecutive days, we were able to vaccinate 100 other beneficiaries who visit the session sites. The vaccine is currently available at full capacity and we are not facing a shortage, ”said a senior northern district official.
“We asked all teams to vaccinate everyone who visits the vaccination center. The district vaccinated more than 10,000 beneficiaries on Monday and Tuesday. At the moment, there is no shortage of vaccine in our centers, ”said a senior official from the Northwest District.
In order to expand the vaccination campaign, the Delhi government decided on Monday that a third of the vaccination centers in Delhi government hospitals will operate 24 hours a day. While most hospitals are able to meet the demand for vaccines, a few wait for additional doses.
For example, the Delhi government-run Rajiv Gandhi Super Specialty Hospital (RGSSH) was unable to vaccinate more than 200 beneficiaries in one day due to vaccine unavailability. The hospital administration has already reported the problem to district officials and hopes that the number of doses will increase in the coming days.
“We are getting 200 doses a day and most of them are used in the afternoon because there is an increase in the number of people walking in for the vaccination campaign. We have the infrastructure and manpower to run six vaccination centers as suggested by the government, but since vaccines are not available, we are not able to entertain more people, ”said Dr BL Sherwal, RGSSH Medical Superintendent.
With an increase in the number of walk-in people at vaccination centers, a senior Southwest District official said, “Vaccine use is almost 90-95% in our district. Due to the sudden increase in the number of vaccines, we have the vaccine stock available for about three to four days. We have informed the center and other authorities of the availability. “
The third phase of the mass immunization campaign began on April 1, with the Center enabling states to immunize all people over 45. The Delhi government has asked the Center to open vaccination for all people over 18 years old.
“We believe the vaccine should first be made available to India and then exported to other countries. People over 45 might need it the most, but the new trend shows people between the ages of 20 and 45 are infected. It spreads rapidly among these people because they are more mobile. They appear not to be strongly affected, but the chances of the virus spreading increase when they return home, as their parents and other family members are at risk. Therefore, we said that vaccination should be extended to everyone except the age, as soon as possible, ”Health Minister Satyendar Jain said on Wednesday.