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400% jump in booster jabs in Telangana within 72 hours | Hyderabad News
HYDERABAD: Following a surge in Covid cases in China and Centre too advising people to stay alert, there has been a 400% jump in precautionary jabs across Telangana in just 72 hours, with people queuing up even on Christmas to take the dose.
On December 21, only 646 beneficiaries had taken the booster shots. On December 22, the number of citizens availing the precautionary dose climbed to 1,631. The trend continued on the 23rd, with the figure rising to 2,267 and touching an unprecedented 3,380 doses on Saturday as people were jolted by the fear of another Covid wave that’s already taking a debilitating toll in neighbouring China.
Even on Christmas Day, more than 1,500 beneficiaries queued up to take the booster shot.
“In my family, none of us took precautionary doses because we thought cases were a trickle, but after seeing what is happening in China we rushed to take the boosters,” Enugu Ramchandra Reddy, a Hyderabad-based techie, said.
Except on November 23, when the number was close to 2,913, daily precaution doses in Telangana never hovered around the 3,000 mark in the last few months. And on some dates, there weren’t even 20 people queuing up for taking the booster shots.
At 46%, Telangana has however the highest average in citizens taking the precaution dose so far in the country.
Health minister T Harish Rao has asked the Centre to supply more precautionary doses, as the state currently has a stock of 9.57 lakh vaccine. In the state, over 1.6 crore people are yet to receive the precautionary dose. “It’s important for the elderly and those with comorbidities to take the precaution dose,” said Rakesh Mishra, director of Tata Institute of Genetics and Society and former director of the CCMB, Hyderabad. Taking the dose just before a spike won’t help because it takes time for the vaccine to provide protection, but still it’s not too late, he added
On December 21, only 646 beneficiaries had taken the booster shots. On December 22, the number of citizens availing the precautionary dose climbed to 1,631. The trend continued on the 23rd, with the figure rising to 2,267 and touching an unprecedented 3,380 doses on Saturday as people were jolted by the fear of another Covid wave that’s already taking a debilitating toll in neighbouring China.
Even on Christmas Day, more than 1,500 beneficiaries queued up to take the booster shot.
“In my family, none of us took precautionary doses because we thought cases were a trickle, but after seeing what is happening in China we rushed to take the boosters,” Enugu Ramchandra Reddy, a Hyderabad-based techie, said.
Except on November 23, when the number was close to 2,913, daily precaution doses in Telangana never hovered around the 3,000 mark in the last few months. And on some dates, there weren’t even 20 people queuing up for taking the booster shots.
At 46%, Telangana has however the highest average in citizens taking the precaution dose so far in the country.
Health minister T Harish Rao has asked the Centre to supply more precautionary doses, as the state currently has a stock of 9.57 lakh vaccine. In the state, over 1.6 crore people are yet to receive the precautionary dose. “It’s important for the elderly and those with comorbidities to take the precaution dose,” said Rakesh Mishra, director of Tata Institute of Genetics and Society and former director of the CCMB, Hyderabad. Taking the dose just before a spike won’t help because it takes time for the vaccine to provide protection, but still it’s not too late, he added
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