State Tops In Booster Coverage, But Rural & Urban Gap Widens | Hyderabad News
“In rural areas we are able to convince people to take the booster dose, but not so much when it comes to towns,” said a senior health official, adding that the state’s push in remote districts has resulted in many turning up at primary and community health centres. On the contrary, coverage in Hyderabad, Rangareddy and Nizamabad has been among the lowest, officials said.
For instance, in the case of 60-plus age category, the highest coverage is in Jayashankar Bhupalpally, Mulugu, Adilabad and Nagarkurnool districts where all registered elderly have had their booster shot. In contrast, Hyderabad has seen just 34% of elderly taking their booster shot. Similarly, in the 18-59 age group, the coverage is 102% in Sangareddy but only 16.6% in Hyderabad.
“Sangareddy and a few other districts have done particularly well in booster dose coverage, with people being convinced to come to primary health centres. But the challenge is in urban areas, especially Hyderabad, where people go by what they read, their opinions and take decisions themselves instead of following the government advisory,” the health official said.
In the case of health workers, as per latest statistics from health department, booster dose coverage in districts such as Nagarkurnool, Narayanpet, Wanaparthy and Bhupalpally is over 110%, whereas Hyderabad is at rock bottom at 48%. In case of frontline workers, booster dose coverage is the highest in Medak at 164%, followed by Jangaon at 131%. Comparatively, Hyderabad has 62% coverage for the category.
“While these two categories were given preference and also pushed by their respective departments, still many did not opt for it. Among them are senior doctors who worked in critical care unit with Covid patients throughout the pandemic. The coverage among general public is far lesser, especially in urban areas,” a health department official said.
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