- The Union Government appears to be in a bind as regards vaccination drive going by the statistics made available by the Health Ministry. The first two categories included since the start of the drive viz. frontline workers, healthcare warriors, citizens above 45 years plus with comorbidities as well as without comorbidities was a prudent decision covering the vulnerable segment of the population. What forced the Union Government to include 18 to 44 years cannot be comprehended easily. The reason could be concerted pressure exerted by the opposition parties, medical experts, and scientists from the relevant associated fields without considering available infrastructure to produce the required number of vaccination.
PC: TNN
- By announcing the inclusion of the younger population, the burden being thrust on the already stuttering vaccination drive was imperative. Imagine a humongous 64 crore people were getting added to the already bloated 34 crore people earmarked for vaccination. It would have made logical sense if the vaccine production in the country was in a position to complement the efforts of the Government to get its people vaccinated to keep the severity of the infection to manageable levels. For the uninitiated, the capacity of the two approved vaccines in the country vis-à-vis Serum Institute of India’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech’s Covaxin is 8 million and 2 million doses per month, respectively.
- Since the ravaging second covid wave has mercilessly laid bare the inadequacy of our healthcare infrastructure, irrespective of urban or rural landscapes, to meet the challenges posed by the unprecedented rise in the infection rates, it was obvious that the healthcare professionals were severely constrained to undertake two equally daunting tasks of attending to the infected patients as well as administering the vaccinations to the eligible. Erratic supply of vaccinations to the intended beneficiaries even before the younger category was included needs no further elaboration. The latest addition only exacerbated the challenges faced by the medical fraternity who might be feeling completely exasperated by now.
PC: Rahul Singh
- The sheer density of infected people flocking to the hospitals, both private as well as public, is humanly impossible to manage and as such, explains the ineffectiveness of the authorities concerned to forcefully push through the vaccination drive objectively and effectively. The resultant outcome is that many of the beneficiaries in receipt of the first dose are still awaiting their turn to receive the second dose as the advantages of vaccine developing an active shield against the rampaging virus seems imminent. Hence, the rush. The fatality rates demonstrate that the people inoculated with even a single dose of vaccine can protect themselves from the severity of the infection.
- There is no going back now and it is incumbent on the Union Government to firmly spell out pragmatic and strategic measures to ensure the vaccination drive is streamlined to proceed ahead judiciously utilizing the available resources. First and foremost, frontline and healthcare warriors not in receipt of even one dose should be the first recipients on the priority list. This should be followed by aged people, people already in receipt of the first dose waiting to receive the second dose, and finally all those eligible youngsters, in that order. This arrangement should be practiced till we are in a position to scale indigenously produced vaccines. Any overseas vaccines getting approval would complement the drive undertaken.
