Madhya Pradesh’s State Health Department is struggling to motivate people to get their second dose of COVID-19 vaccine. According to the latest data, more than 43 lakh people have not taken the second dose despite reminders.
According to senior health officials monitoring the vaccination drive, more than 1 crore people will be given the second dose at the prescribed time in the State. However, 43.60 lakh of them have not taken it.
“We have sent reminders on the registered mobile numbers to those who have not come forward to take the second dose as per schedule,” Dr. Santosh Shukla, State Expanded Programme on Immunisation Officer (SPEIO), Madhya Pradesh told The Hindu.
Agrarian population
One of the biggest reasons why more people are skipping the second dose is primarily because Madhya Pradesh is an agricultural State where more than 72% of total working population is engaged or directly associated with agriculture as farmers and farm labourers. Currently, harvesting of kharif crops is under way, a senior doctor posted in a rural area of Bhopal district said.
“After taking the first dose, most of them had to take rest. As these days are very important during the harvesting period, no one wants to waste a single day,” he added.
“The wheat harvest has begun in the State. It’s an important time of year when the foodgrain gets collected and tailed,” said Laxman S. Thakur, a farmer from Bagrasia village, on the outskirts of Bhopal district.
Once the harvesting and festival seasons are over, people will automatically get their second dose, a senior health official said.
