BHUBANESWAR: With a steady rise in COVID-19 cases in the country, Odisha also witnessing a marginal uptick, huge pendency of second does vaccination has become a headache for the State health administration.
Sources said more than 30 lakh age-appropriate people are due for second dose vaccination in the State, including 21 lakh beneficiaries of 18 years and above. Over 50 per cent of the people above 18 years have not turned up for second dose even after six months of taking the first dose.
The vaccination of teenagers has also slowed down as around 70 per cent of the eligible beneficiaries of 15-18 years age group have been administered both the doses.The inoculation drive of the age group launched in January was to be over by April.
So far, only 89.26 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries have received at least one dose of vaccine and 77 per cent of them have been vaccinated with two doses. Of the 23.65 lakh eligible beneficiaries in the 15 to 18 year age group, 21.38 lakh have got their first dose and 16.54 lakh have received both the doses.
Less than 70 per cent of those eligible in the 15-18 years age group have been administered both the doses of Covid vaccine in seven districts - Boudh, Deogarh, Nabarangpur, Nuapada, Angul, Bhadrak and Puri. The vaccination of 12-14 years age group is also not encouraging as only 56 per cent of the eligible population have been administered with double doses.
The COVID vaccination for the 12-14 years age group had begun on March 16. Of an estimated 15.21 lakh children, 8.62 lakh have completed their vaccination.
The daily vaccination has also come down from a range of 50,000 last month to around 30,000 now. Around 2,700 vax centres have been opened across the State and districts have been asked to mobilise those who have not got their shots to the centres on priority.
Since Odisha has been witnessing a spike in cases among the teenagers attending classes or staying in hostels, the Health department has planned to complete the second dose vaccination of beneficiaries due for it at the earliest.
Director of Family Welfare Dr Bijay Panigrahi said that vaccination of all beneficiaries due for second dose and those eligible for precaution dose among the age-group of 60 years plus would be emphasized through door-to-door activity along with vaccination of eligible beneficiaries in prisons, old-age homes and ashrams.
As part of the intensive two-month focussed coverage of children aged 12-18 years will also be undertaken through a school-based campaign including government and private participation. A Har Ghar Dastak round will also be held for the children and considering the schools with summer vacations during the campaign period, he said.
So far, 3.47 crore people have received first dose and 3.15 crore have received two doses of vaccines. The State reported 19 new cases in last 24 hours taking the active cases to 136.