When the country began the third phase of the Covid vaccination campaign on Thursday, the head of AIIMS, Dr. Randeep Guleria, said that the need of the moment is to vaccinate more people and gradually open up to cover people from the groups of younger age. However, he added that it must be balanced with the availability of vaccines.
“We are a very large country and if we said that we want to vaccinate the entire adult population for which the vaccine is currently approved, that would mean close to one billion people. We will need two billion doses and there is no way we can get two billion doses if we have to open it up for everyone, ”Indian Express quoted Dr. Randeep Guleria as saying.
The head of AIIMS said it is necessary to balance the available vaccine with the number of people to be vaccinated as a priority.
He said that if vaccination trends appear to be falling after a week or 10 days, then vaccination can be started for the younger age group.
“There are people in the younger age group who want to be vaccinated, while others in the older age group meet the criteria, but are still reluctant and unwilling to get vaccinated, but are pushing the line,” according to the reports.
The vaccination campaign that began in January has had a slow response, with many states falling short of the goal of vaccinating healthcare and frontline workers.
Guleria said that the AIIMS, Delhi has started five vaccination sites and has received 600 beneficiaries per day more than the normal daily passage of 100.
“On Thursday we vaccinated 996 people and we thought we would cross the 1000 mark. But these are the first days, if this continues, we are in a very good position. But let’s say after 10 days we only see 50% of people coming, that means we are reaching a saturation point for those who want to get vaccinated. So maybe we should lower the age group now, ”he added.
Highlighting the fact that more than 50 percent of healthcare workers have not come forward, he said: “I have argued with them that the push is not for them but for their patients. It should be mandatory for all health professionals who work in the hospital for the safety of their patients ”.
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