News Analysis India

Tag: Covid second dose

  • Get fully vaccinated to get benefits of state govt schemes: Assam govt to people 

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: Assam will not extend the benefits of state-sponsored schemes to the beneficiaries if they do not take both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

    “We are making vaccination mandatory. If someone is not vaccinated with both doses, then s/he will be deprived of the benefits of all state government schemes,” Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said.

    “We will check the vaccination status of people while rolling out the benefits of schemes to them. This will be enforced from next month,” he said.

    The minister also said that the government had set a goal to reach a vaccination target of three crores. According to the last count, Assam has a population of 3.29 crore.

    Till Monday, altogether 2,72,94,413 people have been vaccinated. Of them, 73,62,507 received both doses. Currently, the state has 2,535 active cases of Covid.

    Munindra Nath Ngatey, who is the Director of Assam’s Health Services, told this newspaper that there was still vaccine hesitancy among a section of the people.

    “Our worry is if these people do not get vaccinated early, they might infect others,” Ngatey said.

    He also said that an estimated 85% of the adults had received the first dose. A section of the people missed the second dose, he added.

  • Lukewarm response to second vaccine dose in Assam

    Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Assam government is perplexed that not many people are coming forward to take the second dose of the Covid vaccine.

    The state’s Health Minister Keshab Mahanta said the government had no idea on the lukewarm response to the second dose.

    “We tried a lot. We set up call centres at the district level and called up people (to come and take the second dose). Despite all such efforts, people are not coming forward to take the second vaccine shot,” a helpless Mahanta told journalists in Guwahati on Tuesday.

    “We haven’t received the kind of response we expected. We don’t know why people are not coming forward,” he said.

    ALSO READ | Assam govt eases COVID-19 restrictions, night curfew between 7 pm to 5 am from August 18

    Till Monday, 1,18,35,601 or 51% of the beneficiaries took the first vaccine dose and 25,19,613 or 11% of the beneficiaries took the second dose.

    The minister appealed to people, including those who have not yet taken the first dose, to come and get jabbed.

    “We are administering 2.5 lakh to 3 lakh vaccine doses every day. We have sufficient vaccines and we want people to come forward and get vaccinated. The vaccines have been made available everywhere,” he added.

    Director of Health Services (Family Welfare) Munindra Nath Ngatey, who is the state’s vaccination in charge, told this newspaper that a certain number of people had not come forward for the second vaccine dose even after the expiry of the 120-day period.

    “The vaccination drive picked up momentum from May 1. In the case of Covishield, the second dose needs to be administered between 84 and 120 days from the day of the first dose. We have noticed that some people come after 100 days. Some come later than that,” Ngatey said.

    According to him, the second dose is due for 2 lakh to 2.5 lakh people. He said a section of the paramilitary personnel took the second dose outside the state. “I don’t know why there is some sort of hesitancy about the second dose,” he added.