Tarun Karthick
Campbell Bay, 10 July 2022
To strengthen the fight against COVID-19, India recently reduced the gap between the second dose and the precautionary dose of COVID-19 Vaccination to six months from the earlier mandate of nine months.
Individuals in the age group of 18+ can now avail the precautionary dose after six months from their second dose of vaccination. For individuals aged 18-59 years, precautionary dose is only available in private vaccination centres on payment. Individuals in the 60+ age group, Health Care Workers and Front Line Workers can get themselves vaccinated with the precautionary dose free of cost at Govt. Vaccination Centres.
Syamala Clinic at Port Blair is the only Private Vaccination Centre in the whole of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. No private vaccination centres are available in Nicobar District and North and Middle Andaman District.
Majority of the eligible population of Andaman and Nicobar Islands still does not have access to Precautionary Dose of COVID-19 Vaccination due to the non-availability of private vaccination centres.
The isolated islands of the archipelago makes it even more complicated for the residents to get themselves vaccinated with a precautionary dose. A person from Great Nicobar will have to spend at least Rs. 8,000/- for travel, stay and other expenses just to get his precautionary dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
Non-availability of adequate transportation from the remote Islands is another deterrent for the residents to travel to Port Blair for getting inoculated.
Andaman and Nicobar Administration ran an impressive vaccination campaign and inoculated 100% of the eligible Islanders with the 1st and 2nd dose of COVID-19 Vaccines, residents now demand that precautionary doses of Vaccination should be made available at local Vaccination Centres at the respective Islanders. Citizens say they are ready to pay the required charges for getting themselves inoculated with the precautionary dose if the vaccines are available at vaccination centres near them.
Finding private vaccination centres is not difficult in mainland India as people can easily travel to towns and cities nearby their villages and get themselves inoculated. In an Island setup, the vaccines must be brought near the people in major settlements as everyone can’t travel due to the high cost and unavailability of adequate means.
With the rise in COVID-19 cases in the Islands, it has become even more important for people to get vaccinated with a precautionary dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to avoid any complications.
The lack of advanced medical facilities only increases the need for COVID-19 precautionary dose coverage in rural areas of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The PRI members from various rural areas are also demanding starting of COVID-19 precautionary dose for people aged 18-59 years in their respective areas. Special arrangements should be made for the rural population of Andaman and Nicobar Islands considering the local problems of the residents.