At least 2.5 lakh vaccine beneficiaries in Ranchi have missed taking the second jab of Covid-19 vaccine on time, forcing the district administration here to visit door-to-door and convince them to get their second dose at the earliest in a bid to ensure protection from novel coronavirus, officials said on Thursday.
Ranchi Deputy Commissioner Chhavi Ranjan said that the administration here was running campaigns to encourage second dose beneficiaries to get their jabs voluntarily, but stricter measures could also be taken if the beneficiaries still show reluctance in getting vaccinated.
“We urge all the second dose beneficiaries to take the jabs on time. This is for your protection, and it will keep you safe,” he said.
As per records with the National Health Mission (NHM), there are about 21 lakh eligible vaccine beneficiaries in Ranchi, and around 16 lakh of them have received at least the first dose of vaccine against Covid-19. However, only 8-lakh-odd residents have also taken the second jab.
In the wake of the new Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 virus, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also directed all the states and union territories to speed up vaccination. While some experts have said that the new variant may bypass the immunity provided by Covid-19 vaccines, fully-vaccinated individuals still had better immunity against the virus than those who have only received one dose, health officials said.
NHM records highlight that there are over 2.41 crore vaccine beneficiaries in Jharkhand. And at least 69 per cent of them have received the first dose of vaccine, and over 33 per cent have received both the doses.
In a letter addressed to the deputy commissioners last month, Additional Chief Secretary (Health) Arun Kumar Singh asked them to expedite the vaccination process under the door-to-door vaccination campaign, and organise special camps for Covid-19 vaccination on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in all the districts.
The fresh vaccination target set for the state was 3.50 lakh doses every day in the last week of November and over 4 lakh jabs daily from December 1 to December 20. However, the state has not been able to achieve these targets yet.
Health Minister Banna Gupta admitted earlier this week that the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 was affected by the festive season in Jharkhand, and assured that the daily vaccination figures will rise in the state in the days to come.
