As per the new data, 10,95,389 people have taken the first dose of their covid-19 vaccine. But, only 5,99,876 of them have received their second dose. So, it indicates that nearly 2 lakh people are overdue for their second vaccine. This is a concerning issue because people are not taking their vaccine despite keeping the view of the possible threat of the third covid-19 wave in India.
The Meghalaya Joint Secretary (Health) and Director of the National Health Mission Ram Kumar said that people took vaccination seriously when the country witnessed the second wave. It was in May, June, and July but there has been a hesitancy after it.
The pace of vaccination went down when the second wave was declining in August. Also, the people vaccinated with the first dose are not receiving the second one. Even before the pandemic, there were identical challenges in other campaigns as well. The health authorities met with similar issues during immunization for children’s campaigns.
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Fr. Richard Majaw, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Shillong shared that he was not sure of the reason behind vaccine hesitancy. He is not certain whether there are religious beliefs behind vaccine hesitancy. Even the churches have motivated people to take vaccination but it has not forced them.
Why do people don’t come forward for the second dose of vaccination?
The DHS director said that people in the state need reassurance for taking the vaccine. He further shared that the health workers are trying to convince people and reassure the people in Meghalaya.
The NHM director of the state said that there are various reasons for Vaccine hesitancy in the state. The first reason is procrastination among those who took the first dose of the vaccine. The other reason is the suspicion through small side effects of the first vaccine.
To combat the situation, the Meghalaya NHM is making 3,000 calls daily to remind people about their final vaccine dose. Until now, more than 1 lakh calls have been made by the department for this cause.
They have also been addressing the reasons for vaccine hesitancy among the people. But, many calls have gone unreachable and some have even given wrong numbers adding to the concern.
The department shared that even after overdue the people can come forward and contact the authorities to receive the second dose.
Also Read: The COVID casualty—unravelling the years of progress against Tuberculosis
