Nodal officer asks State to improve vaccine coverage

During a review meeting held on Thursday, nodal officer Rajendra Ratnoo also commended the state on the current efforts and milestones achieved thus far. Health Secretary J Radhakrishnan, Director of Public Health Dr TS Selvavinayagam, and other officials participated in the meet. 

Though the absolute number of vaccinations covered thus far was commendable, the percentile numbers of beneficiaries remain low when compared to the rest of the nation owing to the large number of healthcare workers in the State, Ratnoo noted. 

“We have introduced a campaign where one healthcare worker who has received the vaccine should motivate two others and advocate to them the benefits of receiving the shot as soon as possible. At the PHC level, we have noted that the take-off with anganwadi workers and PHC workers is poor. So, we have requested for each PHC worker to advocate to ten other workers,” said Radhakrishnan. 

According to him, these efforts have borne fruit. He added that long-term advocacy would assist in promoting vaccination across the State.