The response to the Covid-19 vaccination programme for 12-14 year-olds has been muted in private hospitals, even as the public immunisation drive elicited a mixed response in some States.
The Central government had rolled out the administration of Hyderabad-based Biological E’s Corbevax for the 12-14 age group on March 16. The company has an existing order from the government to supply 30 crore doses towards this programme.
Subsequently, the vaccine was made available to private hospitals, too, and is priced at ₹800 per dose. In government hospitals, it costs ₹145.
Limited availability
However, the availability of the two-dose vaccine is still limited to select hospitals across major cities. While corporate children’s hospitals such as Hyderabad’s Rainbow Group are catering to the private demand, major groups such as the Apollo Hospitals are yet to commence administration of Corbevax. The experience is not confined to Hyderabad.
BusinessLine enquiries revealed that the demand has been low for the jab in the 12-14 age group in the private segment, in cities including Chennai, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Vijayawada. “As it’s available in many public schools ... it may be a little while before the private demand picks up,” a senior executive with a corporate hospitaltold BusinessLine.
Complacent feeling
Sanjay Pandey, Zonal Director, Fortis Hospitals, Chennai, said the interest for vaccination is low. “Looks like people have now become very comfortable and feel that vaccination is not required as the number of cases have come down. So, we are keeping a very minimum quantity of vaccines and scaled down the drive from two hospitals to one hospital now,’‘ he said.
Meanwhile, vaccinators at government institutions in Tamil Nadu are hesitant to open vials fearing wastage, owing to the low demand. Each vial can vaccinate upto 20 children. There has been some hesitancy in rural areas of Andhra Pradesh, a source said. Medical officers in Gujarat, too, are also facing mixed responses to the drive.
Hesitant parents
The other major issue appears to be hesitant parents who fear possible adverse reactions due to the vaccine. In Ahmedabad’s south-west zone, health officials found the parents to be hesitant in getting their kids vaccinated. The hesitancy, according to health officials, arises from two factors. First is the reaction of the vaccine and second, the lower rate of daily new infections.
“As an adult, they have protected themselves by taking either Covaxin or Covishield vaccine. But as parents, they aren’t showing enough courage to take their kids to the vaccination centers,” said one of the municipal medical officers.
However, the case is different in schools. Kamaxi Jonwal, Medical Officer at Akota Ward in Vadodara, said: “We have six schools under our ward and we have completed vaccination for about 98 per cent of the target group. The remaining 2 per cent have shown some hesitancy due to possible side-effects.”