New Delhi: Sixty-five per cent of India’s eligible senior citizens are yet to take the booster (or precaution) dose of Covid vaccine, say health ministry officials. This has become a cause for concern for the Modi government at a time when 99 per cent of daily Covid deaths are either among the elderly or patients with comorbidities.
India reported 30 Covid deaths in the last 24 hours. The daily toll has been in the 30-70 range throughout August.
Speaking to ThePrint on the condition of anonymity, a senior health ministry official said that the government was concerned about the low uptake of precaution doses. “Our analysis has found that currently, of the deaths that are happening because of Covid, 99 per cent are in people who are either old or had comorbidities. It’s absolutely essential that the senior citizens who are eligible for precaution doses should take them as soon as possible.”
“We don’t want people to be scared but we want them safe,” the official added. He also denied there being concerns about vaccine expiry.
According to health ministry officials, a total of 77 crore people in the country are currently eligible for the precaution dose, out of which 16.8 crore are senior citizens.
Government data shows that the coverage of precaution dose among senior citizens, healthcare workers, and frontline workers is a measly 35 per cent.
The overall coverage of precaution dose among eligible people in the 18-59 years age group is 11.96 per cent. The highest coverage (93 per cent), however, is being reported from army camps, data shows.
At 9 per cent, Haryana and Jharkhand have the lowest precaution dose coverage in the 18-59 years age group. At 35 per cent, Chhattisgarh has recorded the highest.
Also Read: R&D investment in Indian biotech tripled in 2021 to cross $1 billion, says govt report
World Bank report lauds India
Meanwhile, in its discussion paper titled ‘India Covid-19 Procurement: Challenges, innovations, and Lessons’, the World Bank lauded India’s efforts in tackling the pandemic.
The World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) jointly funded the ‘Covid-19 Emergency Response and Health Systems Strengthening Project’ worth $ 1.5 billion (Rs 11,983.5 crore). The aim of the project was to prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by Covid and strengthen national health systems for preparedness in India.
The World Bank paper, shared by the health ministry Tuesday, listed India’s decision to have centralised procurement for Covid-related items with defined technical specifications and the health ministry’s support to long-term market development and production of Emergency Medical Equipment (EME) as some of the things that worked in India’s favour during the pandemic.
It also said that the creation of empowered inter-ministerial groups to achieve prompt procurement decisions during the public health emergency and early export restrictions helped the country.
“Covid-19 created unprecedented shortages of essential medical supplies and equipment due to the sudden surge in demand,” the paper said. “Severe global supply chain constraints of essential Covid commodities and unprecedented demand for lifesaving equipment led to an entirely supplier-driven market and a huge variation in prices.”
The paper said that to address the concern, the Indian government took over the responsibility for centralised procurement to support the states.
“Flexible conditions were permitted under the existing legal frameworks and budgets to undertake fast-track procurement, while empowered groups helped to accelerate decision making. Initially, this enabled accelerated imports, and over time, the development of local markets, based on a whole-of-government approach,” the paper further said.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
Also Read: Covid vaccines likely saved 20 million lives, cut potential toll by half, says Lancet study
Source: The Print
