New Delhi, Apr 01 :
The ministry of health and family welfare has asked all centres, both in the public and private sectors, to offer COVID-19 vaccinations on all days of the month in April, including on gazetted holidays. Vaccination for all above the age of 45, irrespective of co-morbidities, opened up on Thursday.
However, April has a slew of holidays, starting from Good Friday. Then, there is Ambedkar Jayanti on April 14, as well as Ram Navami on April 21. In addition to these, there may be a number of holidays at the state level, with Bihu on April 16 in Assam, Poila Boishak in West Bengal on April 15 and Gudhi Padwa in Maharashtra and Ugadi in Andhra and Telangana on April 13. In government offices, the
COVID-19 vaccination
second Saturday is also considered an off day. Then, there are the four Sundays. With only 6.5 crore of the population (around 4.4 per cent) inoculated so far since the vaccinations rolled out on January 16, and with the second wave spreading fast, the Centre has been trying to inject some energy into the vaccination campaign itself. The last 24 hours have recorded 72,330 new cases, 85 per cent of them reported from the eight critical states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Punjab, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The vaccination drive has been sluggish so far, with most centres running below capacity. Unwillingness of the public to go out and get inoculated seems to be the biggest hurdle in the vaccination drive right now. This has also led to “vaccine wastage”, since once a vial is opened, and there are not enough candidates for the shot, the unused doses have to be discarded.
The national average of vaccine wastage is around six per cent though in places like Telangana, the wastage has been recorded as much higher. On Wednesday, the Centre instructed all states to ensure that the wastage was kept below one per cent. It also told states not to hoard up doses for the second shots, but to inoculate as many as possible, given the assurance that there is no dearth of vaccines, and fresh supplies will continue to be delivered.
India recently halted fresh exports of the vaccine, as it began grappling with its second wave. Now, the government has emphasised that there is no shortage of vaccines. In fact, it has also asked for more public sector participation in the vaccination programme. Only 6,000 private facilities have opened up for vaccination, though around 20,000 centres have the capacity. Capacity means that a centre should have three rooms- for waiting, vaccination and observation. It should have trained staff for administering the shots. And it should have facilities to address any adverse reactions to the vaccine.
