Fading fear of Covid leading to less jabs: officials

In tribal-dominated Nandurbar, only 46.9% of the district population has received the first dose. Speaking to The Indian Express, Dr Mahendra Chauvan, district health officer, said that on October 31, the district had only one Covid-19 case. So, the fear of Covid-19 infection has faded among people who are now refusing to get vaccinated.

Similarly, in Hingoli, 47.8% of the population have taken the first dose, while 17.8% are fully vaccinated—the lowest in the state. The district immunization officer, Dr Premkumar Thombare, has compiled the names of those who are partially vaccinated or not vaccinated. They are sending health volunteers door-to-door with the list to convince people to take the vaccine.

“When our officers talk to them, they readily agree to take the jab but 90% of them eventually don’t turn up. They claim the pandemic is over so there is no need to take the jab,” said Dr Thombare. “Some don’t even receive calls or open doors when we follow up.”

The health officers have observed that adults above 45 years are more resistant to taking the jab. Also, data show that the female population is lagging behind in vaccination. For instance, in Aurangabad, out of the 25,04,406 vaccines administered, 13,88,844 were given to men and 11,15,042 to women.

“After vaccination, some develop minor reactions like fever and body ache. So, many women refuse to take the jab, which would hinder their household work,” said Sujata Gaikwad, a nurse at the government district hospital in Nanded where 48.4% single dose vaccinations have been recorded.

As per the state Covid task force, vaccine efficacy of a single dose in preventing infection is low, and this is significantly enhanced with a booster. Even though a single dose offers significant protection against hospitalization and death, this protection is enhanced to a great extent with a booster.
A senior officer also blamed the large time gap between two shots of Covishield, which often discourages people from taking the second shot.

“Compared to Covishield, the number of fully immunised beneficiaries is higher among those who have taken Covaxin. Due to the lesser time gap (24 days), people can take both the shots faster,” said the officer.

Doctors raised the need to boost door-to-door vaccinations in rural Maharashtra to deal with the hesitancy.

“Incentivizing the second dose by linking it to welfare programs might help. Also mandating two doses to access public services may help. Education is always key, and engaging local community leaders and influencers will be a step in the right direction,” said Dr Lancelot Pinto, pulmonologist and epidemiologist at Hinduja Hospital.

As announced on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will have a detailed review meeting with these six districts reporting low vaccination coverage on November 3, along with 42 other districts in the country.