PUNE: A total of 2.92 lakh residents unvaccinated till October-end were motivated and convinced to get their first dose in November in the district, the latest report of the state health department revealed.
A total of 94,434 residents took the Covid shots in the Pune district on Friday. With this, the district with an 83.42 lakh eligible (above 18 years) population has vaccinated 82.27 lakh people with the first dose.
Of them, 52.53 lakh people have received both the doses, an official said. It means the district still has 1.14 lakh eligible citizens who have not yet received a single shot so far.
“A total 2,92,268 residents took the Covid shot in the Pune district in November. They had remained unvaccinated till October end. They were convinced to get the Covid shot through public education and door-to-door counselling under the Har Ghar Dastak campaign,” said public health expert Sanjay Deshmukh, assistant director, health services, Pune region.
During the same period (November), a total of 7.92 lakh people who had previously got their first dose turned up to take the second dose in the district.
“Till September 15, we would vaccinate more first dose beneficiaries than the second dose beneficiaries. Thereafter, we are vaccinating more people with second dose, and motivating unvaccinated people to get their first has become a challenge. We are using creative methods to win citizens over in favour of vaccination, besides deploying routine educational tools like posters, hoardings and mass media tools,” Deshmukh said.
Health activists stressed on scaling up efforts to educate people about taking both the doses. “People are currently more focused on reclaiming income sources and putting in more efforts to compensate the loss that occurred during the lockdown. They need to be not only counselled but also provided doorstep vaccination,” said health activist Sanjay Dabhade.
