New Delhi, Aug 14 (UNI) The union territory of Chandigarh became the first UT in the country to hundred per cent vaccinate all eligible candidates with the first dose of Corona using city buses as vaccination centres, undertaking door-to-door campaigns and prolonged public outreach measures for inoculation, a top government official from Chandigarh told UNI.
"We had set the target of immunizing the adult population with first dose immunisation till August 15. It's exhilarating that we have achieved a day before," remarked an elated Dr Amandeep Kang, Director, Health Services.
On the eve of August 15, Chandigarh has achieved a milestone in the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. The city administration informed UNI that it has vaccinated all the individuals aged above 18 with the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The UT has now set a target of October to achieve full immunisation of the whole adult population by the end of October.
While Chandigarh has completed 100 per cent administration of the first shot among its target population of 7,29,822, the coverage of the second dose has reached a figure of 33.4 per cent, officials informed.
However, in the subgroup of frontline workers (FLW), the city has done extraordinary work in which the vaccination figure has achieved double the target population. The first dose has been administered to 198 per cent while 190 per cent of the second dose has been given so far to this category.
Officials said since Chandigarh lies on the interjection of Punjab and Haryana, FLWs from these states took up vaccination here.
Meanwhile, the vaccination of healthcare workers (HCW) is also nearing its target. According to the city health department, 97.7 per cent of HCWs have been immunized with the first dose while 76 per cent have availed their second shot.
"It was a mammoth task. We initially encountered a lot of hesitancy, especially among the healthcare workers. However, with the support from RWAs, market associations, NGOs and local media, we were able to tide over the resistance and encouraged everyone to take the jab," the top official said while sharing her experience of the Covid vaccination drive.
Kang said the administration had to put a lot of effort into sensitizing the population as well as took a non-conventional approach for this feat. She specified that measures like one on one counselling sustained public outreach strategy and door to door accessibility gave a major boost in building confidence among the public towards vaccination.
The top health official said the UT administration took inspiration from the polio campaign to make the vaccination program reach the marginalised community, which was an instrumental step in achieving the vaccination target.
Apart from hospitals and government dispensaries, we have deployed 15 teams with mobile vans, accompanied by ambulances, stationed in different localities. One out of the box measure taken to make the drive more accessible was to convert four buses into vaccination centres. Dozens of volunteers were deployed at these mobile vaccination centres who would go to each house and encourage the eligible individuals to take the shot.
Kang also informed that the vaccinators have also administered shots to those who were either unable or reluctant to move to vaccination centres.
"There were people who could not see or were bedridden. Some did not want to get the jab at immunisation centres. Our teams gave them doses at the comfort of their home. The healthcare workers waited by ambulance for at least half an hour to ensure immediate medical relief in case of an adverse reaction following immunisation. Fortunately, no such case has been reported," Kang added.
Besides, she also admitted that the less population gave them an upper hand in completing the first dose regimen of adult vaccination earlier than other states and UTs.
"This is also a major reason that we achieved the target and also did not face any shortage of Covid vaccines," Kang said.
Sharing the further experience of the vaccination drive, she said the administration had to face most hesitancy from the healthcare workers while the category of 18-44 years has been the most enthusiastic about the vaccination.
"We had to work a lot in devising a public strategy. Every day, our team would sit and create messages for distribution to media, youtube channels and FM stations. We planned stories with influential newspapers about the benefits of vaccination and the repercussions of avoiding it. One-on-one counselling sessions with reluctant healthcare workers were held," Kang added.
UNI ASH SY 1926