Karnataka sees low vaccination turnout, even as state aims for six lakh inoculated this week

BENGALURU: Karnataka’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign got a lukewarm response on Monday even as the state government stepped up its inoculation capacity to administer the jab on a larger number of targeted groups.

The turnout of people who volunteered for vaccination was 47% by Monday evening, which reflected a further drop compared to the last two days. The government has vaccinated 53,341 people against its target of 108,922 people since Saturday, when vaccination commenced nationwide. Karnataka had reported a turnout of 63% on Saturday and 58% on Sunday. The government and health experts believe a number of factors could have slowed the vaccination programme even as the healthcare officials seek to shift the gear.

Health minister K Sudhakar said the government is expecting a long queue of potential recipients at the vaccination sites in the next 3-4 days. “Healthcare workers are buying time to get vaccinated. They are probably watching their co-workers who have received their shots, and will come forward in the next few days,” he added.


Dakshina Kannada mystery
The health department has been intrigued by the low turnout of people in Dakshina Kannada district, home to top-notch superspeciality hospitals. The coastal region is the second district after BBMP to get the highest number of Covid-19 vaccines based on the number of healthcare workers who registered on the CoWin portal. “Despite the district having the highest literacy rate in the state, I am surprised at why healthcare workers are reluctant to take vaccines. I have scheduled a visit to the district to review the situation,” the health minister said.

Manipal Hospitals chairman Dr Sudarshan Ballal said a combination of factors like fear of possible adverse effects, want of more data and the long weekend may have lowered the numbers. His own hospital had organised an inoculation drive on Sunday where, he said, about 70% of staffers received their shot. “When it comes to vaccination, societal benefit should override personal choices. And on the government’s part, it should take up aggressive campaigning in the future when the vaccination drive begins on full-scale,” he said.

Besides Dr Ballal, several well-known doctors, including Narayana Health chairman Dr Devi Shetty, Aster DM Healthcare CEO Dr Harish Pillai and Covid taskforce member Dr V Ravi, shared photographs and videos of their own vaccination in a bid to drive home a message that the vaccines are safe, and people should come forward to accept them. Karnataka has targeted to vaccinate about 650,000 healthcare workers over the next seven days.