As on Wednesday, the top four states with highest number of vaccinations done were Karnataka (11,68,77), Telangana stood second with 69,625 vaccinations, Andhra at 81,533, followed by Orissa at 62,209.
Telangana has achieved 74% coverage in vaccinating its healthcare staff, one of the highest in the country.
By AKSHATA RAO Mumbai | Chennai: Southern India is topping the country with overall vaccination numbers with Karnataka leading the region with more than 80,000 vaccinations in four days. A smart mobilisation strategy, manual update of beneficiaries in the Co-Win app and enthusiasm shown by senior doctors have pushed healthcare workers to come forward for vaccination even as some hesitancy persists.
As on Wednesday, the top four states with highest number of vaccinations done were Karnataka (11,68,77), Telangana stood second with 69,625 vaccinations, Andhra at 81,533, followed by Orissa at 62,209.
In Karnataka, experts told ET that the supervisors are reviewing ward-wise implementation and insisting that health workers make phone calls to get the beneficiaries to visit the centres.
“We have planned well for the vaccination drive especially with many rounds of training to the field staff, vaccinators, supervisory officers, etc. DCs of the districts have worked well in line with the election booth system. The vaccination of influencers and well-established doctors have helped to get the confidence of the healthcare workers,” said Pankaj Pandey, health secretary, Karnataka.
“There is also greater participation of private hospitals for vaccinating their staff. Leading doctors taking the jabs first has also enhanced confidence among other health workers,” said Giridhar Babu, head of Lifecourse Epidemiology, Public Health Foundation of India.
“There is some initial hesitancy among healthcare workers to voluntarily come forward and get vaccinated. They are probably watching their co-workers who got the vaccine shots, and they will eventually turn up,” state health minister K Sudhakar said.
The only impediment that staff faced is the technical glitches in the Co-Win app. This is leading to overworked staff who are uploading in bulk and at times manually the name of eligible participants, so that those who turn up for vaccination are not turned away because their names don’t appear in the list.
Telangana has achieved 74% coverage in vaccinating its healthcare staff, one of the highest in the country. Several large states such as Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have yet to get their vaccination numbers as these states have witnessed lower turnouts. These low turnouts are partially being blamed on malfunction of the Co-Win app and vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers. Certain vaccination centres in Maharashtra administering the Covaxin vaccine by Bharat Biotech did not see healthcare workers turning up for vaccination.
According to the Union health ministry, the states that have managed to get over 50% vaccination coverage include Lakshadweep, Sikkim, Orissa, Telangana and Rajasthan. The states with less than 40% coverage are Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Punjab.
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