PRINCE KUMAR
Ranchi, Jan 11: Jharkhand is likely to fail the second cut-off date of January 15 after missing the first cut-off date of December 25 for 100% vaccination against Covid-19.
The fear stems from the slow pace of vaccination campaigns as well as the rapid spread of new contaminants. The new disease, evidently brought about by a new and more irresistible strain of the infection, has taken a huge piece of health workers into its grasp and delivered a qualified populace temporarily unfit to take the jab.
Ranchi Civil Surgeon Vinod Kumar said that people are reluctant to take the vaccine and moreover, this is on the will of the people to either take it or not.
“We cannot force the people to take the vaccine as there is no compulsion over it and no law has been formed. At the same time, targets have also increased due to the addition of 15+ beneficiaries which has decreased the vaccination percentage,” Kumar said.
As of January 10, 80% of the total population eligible for vaccination in the state have received their first dose and 49% have received both doses.
As many as 6,006 60+ Comorbid age groups have received their third dose on the very first day of the vaccination, out of 2,09,658 identified for the precautionary dose in the state.
Apart from the mammoth target, new infection is yet another challenge facing the state health machinery. Doctors advise that in case of Covid infection, people should not take vaccination unless they recover. The ideal gap after recovery is around a week.
Head preventive social medicine at RIMS, Dr Devesh Kumar said that not all freshly infected people are essentially unvaccinated. “But those who are due to take their first or second dose should wait for recovery and get their jabs after a gap of around a week,” he added.
