PUNE: The number of beneficiaries due for their second Covid vaccine shot climbed up to a staggering 1.58 crore on February 23 — a jump of over 50 lakh from 1.05 crore in December 2021.
As on February 23, nearly 1.19 crore people were due for their second Covishield shot in the state and over 38 lakh for Covaxin. These numbers fell slightly on February 24 to nearly 1.15 crore people due for the Covishield second dose and 35 lakh for the Covaxin second shot.
The public health department data showed that over 2.68 crore from the target adult population of 9.14 crore were yet to get their second shot in the state. Currently, the state has managed to fully vaccinate 71% of its adults. Officials from the health department highlighted the dwindling numbers of those visiting vaccination sites, while vaccines could go waste at private sites.
As against 1 crore to 1.19 crore beneficiaries due for the second Covishield shot daily in Maharashtra since February 14, an average of over 1 lakh second jabs were availed each day in 10 days till February 23.
A senior state health department official told TOI that the average daily vaccination had dropped below 3 lakh per day lately. “Had people (who have their second doses due) been more forthcoming in completing their vaccination schedule, Maharashtra would have by now achieved full vaccination of over 90% of its adults.”
The beneficiary count due for Covaxin surged recently in the state because of the addition of the 15-18 year age group in the vaccine’s due list. “The number of adolescents due for the second dose in this list would be lower in comparison to that of the 18-plus population. The Covaxin due list for both the age groups (15-18 and 18-plus) has been combined, hence the surge,” he said, adding that person-to-person contact was being established to encourage people to come forward for their pending second shot.
A district official from Ahmednagar, which has so far achieved full vaccination of 61% of its population, said some beneficiaries took their second shot using a different cellphone number and so their names were still appearing in the due list. “But that is a small percentage. The bigger reason is people not coming forward to get their second shot, which can be termed as vaccine hesitancy. Another reason is that those who contracted Covid recently have to wait for three months after the infection to get a shot,” he said. The public health department data showed that Mumbai was inching close to cover its entire adult population with both the doses. It has so far covered 96.93% of adults with first and second shots. Pune has covered 88% of its adult population with both the doses.
