Mumbai: 5 of six vax laggard districts in state better dose coverage within 15 days

Mumbai: Five of the six districts that were pulled up for low first-dose coverage by the Centre have managed to better their performance in the past 15 days. Barring Nandurbar, five districts have managed to give first shots to 60% of their population. However, the single-dose coverage for all continues to be much below the state average (76.7%).
The Centre had identified 48 districts in the country that had not vaccinated even 50% of their eligible population with a single shot till October end.Aurangabad (46.5%), Nandurbar (46.9%), Buldhana (47.6%), Hingoli (47.8%), Nanded (48.4%) and Akola (49.3%) had featured on the list. Later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had met with the district collectors and told them to increase the pace of coverage.
Latest data from CoWin showed that till Wednesday, Aurangabad has vaccinated 60.5% with a single shot, Buldhana 64.3%, Hingoli 61.8%, Nanded 61% and Akola 60.4%. Buldhana has been the swiftest, increasing its coverage by 17% in the past 15 days. A district official said that entire Vidarbha region, including Buldhana, has seen a jump in vaccinations due to a slew of measures including restricted entry to official premises, use of public transport, availing of government schemes for the unvaccinated. “Last week, we had vaccinated more than 40,000 on as single day,” the official said.
Nandurbar, with a predominant tribal population, is the only district that hasn’t reached 60% first-dose coverage. Dr Sachin Desai, immunisation officer for Maharashtra, said that under the “har ghar dastak” campaign, smaller teams are now targeting every village.
An official from Nandurbar said that they have drawn up lists of people from each village and are reaching them accordingly. “There will be camps at banks and market places. Health workers will also travel over Narmada river in boat ambulances to reach villages that are on the banks,” the official said, adding that they are encountering hesitancy among people.
Dr Desai said that the state is watching the performance of all districts and not just these six. Apart from Nandurbar, Beed is another district that is lagging and has managed to give a single shot to only 58% people.