The health administration on Tuesday sent letters to all districts to scale up Covid vaccination. They have been instructed to contact recipients who have yet to receive the proper doses via phone or text message, whether a second or booster dose.

The department will review the immunization records and get in touch with the recipients who have missed their scheduled appointments at the vaccination clinics. Additionally, rather than preventing the loss of doses, the department has shifted its approach to preventing vaccine waste by placing more importance on vaccination.

A senior official with the health department stated that they have instructed the officials not to deny vaccine doses, even if only one individual arrives at the immunization centre. He explained that while the current focus was on immunizing the recipients, a vial of vaccine comprises 10 doses and that if all of them are not used within a certain length of time after it is opened, it may be wasted.

Additionally, in order to make vaccine doses easily accessible, the health administration has given instructions to establish more vaccination clinics across the state. Each district has also been requested to examine the list of recipients who have already received the first dosage and are now eligible for the second dose. They will also check the recipients who have already received the first and second doses and are now eligible for a booster dose.

Although the agency is taking steps to ramp up the Covid vaccine, they need more doses. They had no stock of Covishield and Corbevax, while eight lakh doses of Covaxin were available.

(Source: https://health.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/policy/govt-to-create-more-centres-to-step-up-vaccination/96561567)