45% turn up for vaccine in private hospitals

The Covid-19 vaccination drive in the state on Thursday continued in fits and starts with a somewhat relentless reluctance on part of the intended beneficiaries to take the shots exclusively being made available to them.

Against the targeted 45,973 beneficiaries from among the medical professionals and workers in private hospitals on Thursday, only 20,636 — a mere 45 per cent — turned up to get their first vaccine dose.

The reluctance on part of private healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, mirrors the response so far from their counterparts in the government sector hospitals who too are making their reluctance to take the vaccine evident with nearly half of them not turning up.

In the vaccination in private hospitals, doctors are leading their staff to get vaccines, but there is a lot of hesitancy as many of them want to wait and watch. A health worker said, “There is a lot of fear among the maintenance staff and those at the middle level. They are abstaining from the drive. The senior doctors who are not dealing with Covid 19 cases are also hesitant and that too is causing problems.” According to Director of Public Health Dr G. Srinivasa Rao, so far, since the beginning of the vaccination drive on January 16, Telangana state has vaccinated 1,51,243 healthcare personnel and hospital workers who accounted for 58 per cent of the targeted beneficiaries.

No serious adverse effects events were reported on Thursday, he said in a bulletin on the vaccination drive, adding that three persons reported some mild symptoms and that these individuals were stable.

The vaccination drive for private health workers will continue on Friday, he said.