CHANDIGARH: The rate of vaccination and testing for Covid has reduced since June — from more than 3,500 tests per day in May to 2,500 and from 5,000 shots a day to 4,000 and even fewer on some occasions.
This practice, according to public health experts, could land the city in trouble.
“With the drop in testing and vaccination too, we will be contributing to another surge sooner.
The rate of the vaccination must pick up fast now to overcome the lag,” said an expert.
“Although Covid positivity rate has reached 3.2%, testing should be enhanced so that asymptomatic cases can be traced and treated timely,” the expert added.
If the pace is brought back to the routine, the city will be covered fully for its first dose by December, said experts.
On Friday, 23,560 doses of Covishield were received for the 18 plus group.
The health department will open the slots tomorrow.
“Now, we will be able to enhance the coverage for all age groups.
There will be no problem as far as availability of vaccines is concerned,” said Dr Manjit Singh, district immunisation officer.
While the national deadline is December when it is expected to cover the entire country, Chandigarh’s health officials believe they can meet it much before.
Most of the private hospitals have also started vaccination for all age groups with the availability of the vaccines.
“For us the sky is the limit.
We will not stick to just 5,000 doses.
We shall cover more areas of the city, including slum and rural areas,” said Singh.
Chd: ‘Pace of shots, tests slows; can hasten another surge’
