Chennai: As a worker struggling to increase vaccination coverage in Tamil Nadu, the State Health Department has asked the district to prepare a list of people who have not been vaccinated – the first and second doses – for the door-to-door campaign.
Health workers, including urban and village health nurses, will visit homes immediately to spread awareness about vaccination, and, if needed, offering vaccines at the front of their door.
“The aim is to solve vaccine doubts and encourage more people to take both doses,” said Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan.
Health workers will use population data to prepare the list, he said.
“We have asked health workers to make the vaccine check priority when they visit people to deliver drugs under the ‘thedi maruthuvam’ makkalai scheme ‘and when arranging a health camp,” he said.
Until 8am on Tuesday, almost 31% of adults in the state have not taken a dose and only 29% of them have taken the two doses.
The national average for the first dose is more than 75%.
While some districts such as Kancheepuram, Coimbatore, Nilgiris, Tiruppur and Chennai have almost 80% coverage with the first dose, in districts such as Vellore, Mayiladuthurai, Tirupathur and Ranipet have less than 60% of adults have taken at least one dose.
“District collectors have been asked to identify bags in the district where coverage of low or partial vaccination.
Counseling sessions will be held to clean the myths about the side effects of vaccines and explain the benefits of consuming vaccine doses,” he said.
Internal analysis by the State Health Department showed two doses of Covid-19 vaccine reducing the risk of hospitalization, ICU revenue and death.
In August and September, of 88,719 people were tested positively on Tamil Nadu, at least 63% of them did not take any vaccines, 24% of them were partially vaccinated and 13% of them were fully vaccinated.
The difference is Stark in the acceptance and death of the ICU.
Nearly 87% of death and 76% of ICU revenues are among those who are not vaccinated.
“The effectiveness of vaccines is very impressive.
We want doctors and nurses to discuss this to people,” said Public Health Director Dr.
TS Selvavinayagam.
Despite increasing risk, coverage of low vaccination among senior citizens, which is one of the most vulnerable to infection and death.
Until Tuesday, only 47% of 1.04crore senior citizens in the state had taken the first dose and 23% of them had taken both of these doses.