Comments
Around 50 people have received Covid-19 vaccine doses per session across India, half of the expected average set by the government.
This is mainly due to the vaccine hesitancy that made people reluctant to get inoculated with the vaccine.
According to the data released by the Health Ministry, between Saturday and Monday, 381,305 people received vaccine jab in 7,704 sessions. However, many health workers, who were to receive the vaccine, did not turn up.
The total number of vaccinations till Monday was 429,409.
The turnout decreased from 4,319 on Saturday to 3,593 on Monday, barring Sunday. At the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi, only eight people were inoculated on Monday. Concerns about vaccine safety have discouraged people to take vaccines.
Dr Randeep Guleria, the director of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), said “Initially, health care workers were very keen to get the vaccine.”
“But then because of the infodemic, because of things doing the rounds on social media, because of side effects being highlighted more than what they were, it created a lot of anxiety not only among healthcare workers but also with public at large.”
Manohar Aghnani, an additional secretary in the Union health ministry, said 580 cases of adverse reactions from the vaccine have been reported in three days of the vaccine drive.
The Health Ministry maintained that all adverse reactions have been mild, with fleeting symptoms such as nausea and mild fever. Of the 580 – who represent just 0.15 per cent of those vaccinated – seven required hospitalizations, as per media reports.
Meanwhile, both vaccine manufacturers -- Serum Institute and Bharat Biotech -- have released factsheets about their vaccine and advised people with certain health conditions to be cautious while being inoculated.
Comments
COMMENT NOW
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.