Dose 2 urgency with jab on doorstep

Among these 18.09 lakh, 4,80,870 did not take the second dose of Covaxin within four to six weeks and 13,29,014 people did not take second dose of Covishield

Pranesh Sarkar   |   TT  |  20.11.21: The Bengal government has decided to start a door-to-door vaccination drive after it found that a large number of people have missed the second dose of the Covid19 vaccine within deadline.

“The door-to-door vaccination drive will be for those who have missed the second dose of vaccine within the stipulated time frame,” said a senior government official.

According to a state health department report, till Monday, 18,09,884 people in Bengal did not take second dose of vaccine on time.

Among these 18.09 lakh, 4,80,870 did not take the second dose of Covaxin within four to six weeks and 13,29,014 people did not take second dose of Covishield within 84 days from the first dose.

Till Friday, 8,62,98,114 Covid19 vaccine doses were given in Bengal, of which 6,09,02,147 people have received the first dose and 2,53,95,967 the second dose.

The state has to administer 14 crore doses to give two doses of vaccines to nearly seven crore people aged over 18.

“As so many people missed the second dose of vaccine on time, it has become a headache for us because  the aim of the vaccination drive would be thrown out of gear if so many people don’t take the second dose. The timely second dose is required to get the full benefits of the vaccine,” said a senior government official.

The issue came up during a virtual meeting between chief secretary, H. K. Dwivedi and district magistrates on Friday.

“Some district magistrates proposed a door-to-door vaccination drive for those who had missed the second dose. It was agreed that the initiative would be taken up at the earliest,” said a senior official.

Health department sources said many in the districts who received the first dose didn’t know about the second. Also, a significant number of people did not feel the need for the second dose once Covid cases started going down.