Bhubaneswar: A top official associated with Odisha’s Covid-19 vaccination drive has expressed concern over people not turning up for their second dose, a lacuna that is slowing down the exercise in the state.
Odisha has administered the first jab to over two crore people so far, while only 69.8 lakh have taken both the doses, the official said.
“Around 28 lakh more people should have taken the second dose by now. The second dose administration has been slow in parts of the state, especially in tribal areas,” Dr Bijay Panigrahi, the nodal officer for Odisha’s COVID-19 vaccination drive, stated.
Despite being given reminders, several people have failed to take their second dose on time, he rued.
The official said health workers have been told to motivate locals to complete their vaccination course.
Odisha has so far inoculated 51.4 per cent of its 3.9 crore eligible population with the first dose. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik Friday expressed gratitude to the state’s healthcare professionals for their commitment to the drive.
“Glad to inform that #Odisha has crossed another significant milestone in its fight against #COVID19 by ensuring at least one dose of vaccination for more than 2 crore people. Thanks all our healthcare professionals for their commitments to this mass vaccination drive,” the CM tweeted.
Health experts in the coastal state, however, pointed out that the drive, at the current pace, may not be able to achieve its target of vaccinating the entire eligible population by December 2021.
Meanwhile, Odisha on Saturday logged 695 new COVID-19 cases, including 83 children and adolescents, taking the state’s tally to 10,19,621, according to an official of the health department.
Six fresh fatalities pushed the toll to 8,128, he said.
Khurda district registered the maximum number of new infections at 323, followed by Cuttack at 90.
The state currently has 5,876 active cases, while as many as 10,05,564 patients, including 719 on Friday, have recovered from the highly infectious disease.
The positivity rate in the state stands at 5.13 per cent.
Over 1.91 crore samples have been tested thus far, including 65,512 Friday, the official added.
PTI
