Despite starting precaution doses and vaccination for children, daily average vaccinations in private hospitals have seen a significant drop, leading hospital executives told ET.
There has been a drop of nearly 40% across Apollo Hospitals from early January to now, an executive told ET.
“The average daily vaccination rate has markedly come down in the country. This has probably occurred because of the general feeling that the risk of getting severely ill has passed. This is partly because of the high seroprevalence rate with good acceptance of the initial vaccination drive coupled with the low severity and mortality rate seen with the Omicron variant. However, this is a disturbing trend especially at the times that many states may be going to polls, said Sanjith Saseedharan, Consultant & Head Critical Care, SL Raheja Hospital, Mahim-A Fortis Associate.
“Operational challenges and vaccine hesitancy rank highest in the causes for the lower vaccination numbers,” he said.
Max Healthcare is also seeing a gradual decline in vaccination since the third week of January. “Since then till February 4, the numbers have dipped by 59%,” spokesperson, Max healthcare said.
The numbers had jumped by 88% in the week of January 8 to 14 as compared with numbers in the first week of January 2022, after the government allowed pediatric vaccination (15-18 years) and precautionary doses for healthcare workers and senior citizens.
Hospital executives say that they have limited stocks left and have stopped placing fresh orders following a drastic slide in demand.
Doctors say that a proportion of India’s population believes that vaccines are not effective, required, and have serious side effects, which could be one of the reasons for drop in vaccination.
“Hence it is important to fill the misinformation or knowledge deficits by emphasizing that vaccines are rigorously tested for safety and have been proven as the best way to limit the spread of the virus. Unvaccinated individuals should also be warned that they could act as carriers and keep spreading the virus to their near and dear ones, hence individual vaccination is an urgency and responsibility,” added Saseedharan.
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