Vaccine hesitancy dwindles, need for more doses emerge

April 23, 2021 40 Views No Comment

Morung Express News
Dimapur | April 23

As the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic hits Nagaland along with the rest of the country, the need for more supply of vaccines to health authorities has been urged.

The initial hesitancy to vaccines, according to health officials in the State, has subsided a bit. Health Centers have seen an increasing number of people registering themselves to get vaccinated. Further, with the Central Government announcing that all people above the age of 18 years can avail the vaccine from May 1, the need for more doses has become pertinent.

An official from the Nagaland Health and Family Welfare Department informed that as of April 22, the State has 63,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The official informed that the State Government has requisitioned the Centre for 3 lakh vaccine doses three weeks back.

A subsequent reminder has been communicated, the official added. It was further informed that vaccine shortages have been reported from Dimapur, Tuensang, Wokha and Mon.

It was meanwhile reported that the Centre seems to be prioritizing vaccine supply to those States hit the hardest by the second wave of the pandemic.

In Nagaland, a total of 1,47,115 vaccine doses have been administered as of April 22 according to the COWIN portal which only accounts for online registrations. Meanwhile, data from the State Immunisation Officer informed that 1,70,259 doses of the vaccine have been administered in Nagaland as of April 21. The latter data incorporates offline vaccine registrations as well.

1,35,043 people have been administered their first doses and while 35,216 have been given their second doses.

In terms of age 39,637 people in the 45-59 years category have received vaccines while 39,629 people in the 60 years and above category have been administered the vaccine as well. Meanwhile, 67,928 frontline workers and 23065 healthcare workers have also received the vaccine.

Source: https://morungexpress.com/vaccine-hesitancy-dwindles-need-for-more-doses-emerge