Why is COVID-19 vaccination drive so slow across Assam?

* Barring GMCH, enthusiasm missing in other medical colleges

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Despite the State Health department throwing its full weight behind COVID-19 vaccination, the drive is yet to pick up pace.

In the backdrop of other States of the country vaccinating lakhs of people, till January 26 around 20,000 people were vaccinated in Assam. This is a little above its sister State, Tripura.

The target of phase-1 of the vaccination drive in Assam is 1.90 lakh doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff. A worried State Health department has geared up to gear up the momentum of the vaccination drive.

Side effects and Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI) of COVID-19 vaccines are quite minimal. But then, why is the vaccination drive paddling slow even after the department taking all possible measures?

According to official sources, 80 per cent of doctors, nurses and other paramedical staff of the GMCH (Gauhati Medical Colleges and Hospital) have been administered the vaccines. However, this enthusiasm is missing in other medical colleges of the State where the percentage of COVID-19 vaccination ranges from 45-50 till January 26. The pace of this drive in the district hospitals is no better either.

Concerned circles feel that if the medical fraternity itself is reluctant to take the vaccine, it will be very difficult to get across the efficacy of the vaccines and the absence of their AEFI among the commoners.

To speed up the drive, the department is now going to increase the number of vaccination sites from the existing 414.

As of now, private hospitals have not been involved in the vaccination process but now efforts are on to involve them.

Before the vaccination drive had started, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma went on record saying that the first phase of the drive would be over within eight weeks at the pace of 6,500 people receiving the COVID-19 vaccine per day. However, given the pace of the drive now, this phase of the vaccination is likely to take more time.

According to vaccination drive statistics as on January 26, Karnataka tops the list with around 2.31 lakh vaccination. It's followed by Odisha with 1.77 lakh; Rajasthan with 1.61 lakh; Maharashtra 1.36 lakh; Andhra Pradesh with 1.36 lakh; West Bengal with 1.22 lakh; Bihar, Kerala and Madhya Pradesh with over 70,000.

In the north-eastern States, till January 26 Assam vaccinated 19,837, followed by Tripura with 19,698, Arunachal Pradesh with 7,300, Nagaland with 2,748, Mizoram with 4,852 and Manipur with 2,483.

Even as the State Health Minister is optimistic of the drive picking up pace, a number of people belonging to the medical fraternity have been staying away from taking the vaccine. If the Minister doesn't intervene, the situation may worsen thereby adversely affecting the vaccination process.

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