11 districts yet to administer any booster dose in 18-59 age group

As per official data till June 1, only 2.68 lakh beneficiaries in the 18-59 age group have taken the first dose in the state. Among them, 96 per cent doses have been administered in seven districts.

A total of 1.19 lakh have taken the third shot in Mumbai, followed by Pune (61,075), Thane (49,389), Raigad (10,151), Aurangabad (6,399), Nagpur (5,601) and Nashik (5,490).

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The most affected ones are from rural areas where people have to travel a long distance to reach cities to get the third shot.

A 42-year-old woman living with HIV had to travel 50 km to get the third shot in Nagpur from the Mohadi taluka in Bhandara. “We couldn’t find a single private centre administering booster shots. Due to infection, we have to be extra cautious so we decided to travel to Nagpur,” she said.

This is not an isolated case. Many patients with underlying health issues that make them more vulnerable to contracting Covid-19 are being forced to travel to cities for the booster shot.

Booster doses for frontline workers and people above 60 years were started on January 10. On April 10, the facility was extended to the 18-59 age group. However, with the flattening of the pandemic curve, the demand for the third shot dropped, which discouraged the private sector from stocking the vaccines.

According to Indian Medical Association (IMA), over five lakh expired vials were discarded in Maharashtra till May. This deterred many private centres, especially in the rural parts, from carrying out vaccination drives.

Dr Avinash Bhondwe, former president of IMA, Maharashtra, said that at the beginning of the immunisation programme in 2021, private hospitals had to buy vials in bulk at high rates. Later, when the demand for vaccination dropped, their stocks expired. “It caused huge economic loss, especially for the smaller private hospitals. So, now they don’t want to buy the vaccines risking further loss,” he said.

“We are merely following the protocols laid by the Centre. As soon as we get a new instruction, we will start free vaccination in public places,” said Dr Pradeep Vyas, Additional Chief Secretary.

Public health experts have highlighted the need to make the third shot accessible to all free of cost. “The booster shots will not prevent infection but as seen in the past, the vaccination helps to control the severity among patients. So, it is essential that the people especially the elderly above 50 years old and patients with comorbidities take the third jab,” said Dr Bhondwe.

Dr Subhas Salunke, a technical advisor to the state government, said that in a pandemic situation, the Centre should supply the vaccines free of cost. “There are lakhs of people, who can’t even afford to buy the vaccines..”

The official figures also found a lukewarm response to free booster shots among the eligible population above 60 years. As of June 1, 16.44 lakh elderly in the age group have taken the third shot. Nearly 68 per cent of the eligible healthcare and frontline workers haven’t taken the precautionary dose in the state, the data revealed.

Dr Sachin Desai, state immunisation officer, cited several reasons behind the poor response like laxity and less fear of contracting the infection with a drop in Covid-19 cases. “Some beneficiaries had developed minor reactions like fever and body pain after taking the first or second doses. So, fearing it, most of the villagers are shying away from it now,” he said.

The state has over 1.3 crore vaccines in stock. “Now, we have an abundance of vaccines but the demand is low. Even after repeated alerts, 90 per cent of the people don’t show up. So, we have started a door-to-door survey,” said Dr Govind Chaudhari, District Health Officer, Nandurbar.