The vaccination pace in Palamu has slowed down lately, pushing the district lower in terms of vaccination numbers when compared to the remaining 23 districts in Jharkhand, said sources.
Sources said Palamu used to perform well even at times like the shortage of the doses of the vaccine but when over the last few months there is no crisis of vaccine doses its inoculartion rate has dipped here considerably.
Sources said Palamu’s poor vaccination coverage has been noticed when the country recorded 2.5 crores of vaccination only recently on the birth day of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It is the second dose coverage that is a matter of great worry here, said sources.
The second dose coverage is 49 percent for people 60 years and above, said district epidemiologist Dr Anup Kr Singh.
Singh said 54 per cent of people in the age group of 45 years to 59 years have received the second dose. It is 58 percent of second dose coverage for people in the range of 18 to 44 years, said the epidemiologist.
The first dose coverage of the vaccination is slightly up but it too needs to be improved, said sources.
Sources said Palamu is trailing behind Ranchi, Bokaro and many other districts in terms of the vaccination coverage. Civil surgeon Palamu Anil Kumar said, “We need to step up our vaccination rate here.”
He said he has directed the medical officers in charge of the 10 community health centres to speed up the vaccination.
About other measures, the civil surgeon said he has set up four monitoring and inspecting teams each having three members whose task will be to visit at least 10 houses a day with the local Sahiyas for getting unvaccinated people vaccinated.
Mapping of resistant area, hard area to reach and vulnerable tribal pockets are to be prioritised for the vaccination, said the civil surgeon.
A call for vaccination coming from elected representatives has to be completed with vaccination without fail, added the civil surgeon.
Kumar, expressing hope, said, “We will catch up with other fast achieving vaccination districts in the state in a fortnight or so.” He said there will be review of every day vaccination work at his official residence from now onwards.
On being asked as to how and why vaccination rate so fell in Palamu, the civil surgeon without mincing word said some WhatsApp groups were circulating rumours regarding Covid-19 and vaccination.
He warned that coronavirus mutates faster than one can imagine and takes people under its grip.
Kumar said this illusion of the coronavirus that it is all gone and over is to be demolished first. The Civil surgeon said his another concern is post covid care. He said it is no less a challenge. There are many cured covid positive patients who now have other discomforts arising out of the post covid complication.
He said this has to be taken care of with the same sensitivity as one has to do for the vaccination.