Improve Vaccination Numbers: Centre to Delhi, Punjab, Maha Govts

‘Upon detailed analysis of vaccination drive, their performance was seen to be below national average,’ Centre said.

Image used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Dhananjay Yadav/IANS)

The Centre wrote to the governments of Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi on Wednesday, 7 April, and flagged their below-par vaccination of frontline and healthcare workers, urging them to take the required corrective action for the same.

Additional Health Secretary Manohar Agnani penned a letter addressed to the Principal Secretaries of Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra and wrote that, “Upon a detailed analysis of the vaccination drive till 7 April 2021... performance was seen to be below the national average and needs improvement.”

For Maharashtra, the health secretary wrote, “as per COWIN Portal, 85.95 percent (national average 85.8 percent) of registered healthcare workers have been vaccinated with first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. The second dose coverage amongst registered HCW, is 41.08 percent (national average 51.49 percent). This is below the national average and needs improvement.”

The Centre also noted the figures for frontline workers, calling for an improvement in their inoculation numbers.

"Further, the coverage amongst the population aged 45 years and above stands at 16.67 percent (national average 16.71 percent)," the letter added.

Delhi

Delhi’s figures showed that 71.69 percent of registered HCWs have been vaccinated with the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 41.48 percent have been inoculated with the second dose, PTI reported.

The letter also showed the data for frontline workers and the population above 45 years of age, which indicated that Delhi had administered more vaccine doses to the priority groups than the national average.

First dose coverage of 73.24 percent (national average 71.1 percent ) and second dose coverage of 40.98 percent (national average 29.97 percent) was found amongst registered FLWs.

Agnani said, "Further, the coverage amongst population aged 45 years and above stands at 18.66 percent (national average 16.71 percent)."

Punjab

In Punjab, 63.95 percent of registered HCWs have been vaccinated with the first dose of vaccine. The second dose coverage amongst registered HCW is an underwhelming 27.36 percent, when the national average is 51.49 percent.

For frontline workers, the first dose coverage of 64.68 percent was noted and a second dose coverage of 19.57 percent.

The coverage in population aged 45 years and above was only 11.08 percent.

The letter said, “This brings out the need for stepped efforts by the state/UT administration to improve the level of coverage of the first as well as the second dose among the HCWs and FLWs, as the primary objective of the vaccination is to protect the healthcare and pandemic response system, especially in the States having surge in cases," PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI)