Patiala: Soaring Covid cases prompt beneficiaries to get vax shots

Karam Prakash

Tribune News Service

Patiala, January 6

Surging Covid cases, seemingly, have prompted beneficiaries to throng vaccination centres in large numbers. “Daily inoculation count in the district is on the rise as beneficiaries are rushing to vaccination centres,” say health officials.

The Health Department claimed that they administered 16,717 Covid doses on Thursday. “The increase in daily vaccination count is sudden and unexpected because, on December 30, we could inoculate only 6,780 beneficiaries,” the department added.

Chaotic scenes are witnessed at various vaccination centres because thousands queue up for getting jabbed against virus. The Health Department informed that they, in the face of rising footfall at centres, had to increase vaccination centres in the district.

Dr Rajesh Bhasker, state nodal officer, said daily vaccination figures had seen an upswing following rise in positive cases. “It is good to see people come in large numbers for vaccination shots. With every passing day, the vaccination count is going up.”

Dr Veenu Goyal, district immunisation officer, said 11.20 lakh beneficiaries, out of the targeted 14 lakh, had received the first dose while 5.85 lakh had received both doses.

“Despite shortage of manpower owing to the ongoing strike by the health staff, we have been able to vaccinate 16,000 people. We are planning to hold more vaccination camps as we have enough Covid vaccination doses,” Dr Goyal added.

She said before surge in Covid cases people were reluctant to get vaccinated, but now things had changed. “We went at doorstep of beneficiaries, but many refused to get vaccinated. However, things are getting better now,” she added. They would start giving booster dose to frontline and healthcare workers from January 10, she said.