Mumbai’s teens shun vaccination drive

A teenager takes his vaccine at BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai Central. Pic/Ashish Raje

Mumbai is one of the leading districts in the state when it comes to adult vaccinations, but as far as vaccination of adolescents is concerned (between the ages of 15 to 18), the city stands at No. 29 in the state's districts. It has been almost three months since vaccinations for teenagers opened up, and only 54 per cent of adolescents have taken the first dose of the vaccine. Experts said that many parents are yet to decide if they want to get their child vaccinated.

The vaccination drive for teenagers started on January 3. Till now, 3,35,438 have taken the first dose out of 6,12,461 beneficiaries. When it comes to the second dose, only 24,1094 have taken both jabs in the city. Meanwhile, Bhandara has vaccinated 81.15 per cent of adolescents with the first dose followed by Palghar (79.89 per cent), Sangli (75.15 per cent), Kolhapur (74.45 per cent), and Ahmednagar (74.02 per cent).

The medical director of Khar's Hinduja Hospital Dr Avinash Supe said, "The low numbers show that there is vaccine hesitancy among parents. Moreover, drop in COVID cases might have made them have second thoughts about the same. Children must encourage their parents and convince them so that they allow them to get vaccinated."

Dr Rajesh Dere, dean of BKC's jumbo COVID and vaccination centre said, "I think parents are in a dilemma. I don't know what they are waiting for. We can't predict the fourth wave, but we have to look at our safety first. Parents should not waste time and get their children vaccinated soon."

One of the health officers from the BMC said, "I think parents are waiting for the fourth wave to come. There is no rush, vaccines are available across Mumbai, so
why waste time. We have conducted so many camps in schools and colleges and we want the same effort from the parents' side."

Mumbai also stands in the second-last position in terms of vaccinating children between the ages of 12 and 14. It's been a week since the drive started. Out of 3,95,882, only 9.022 (2.28 per cent) beneficiaries have taken the first jab.

54%
Adolescents who have taken the first dose of the vaccine