Need to step up youngster vaccination in city

They may come to the conclusion that there is no pressing need for these vaccines. A medical director stated that it is the children who must impress upon their parents the need for the vaccines

Youngsters need to step up to the vaccine plate now that Covid-19 jabs have opened for those aged 12 years and above. Mumbai is one of the leading districts when it comes to adult vaccinations in Maharashtra. Yet, vaccination for the 15 to 18 age group has not seen as much of a robust presence. The city ranks 29 when it comes to the state’s districts. Our report cited that it has been almost three months since vaccines opened up for that age group, but numbers are still low. A medical director stated in the report that numbers illustrate that there is still a vaccine hesitancy among people. Parents may also be lulled into a false sense of complacency, seeing the dipping number of cases. They may come to the conclusion that there is no pressing need for these vaccines. A medical director stated that it is the children who must impress upon their parents the need for the vaccines.

We must ensure that teenagers get the vaccines, and maybe government agencies can now replace the standard vaccine messages with those calling out the left behind and youngsters for the shots. The messages can now focus on completing the last mile as we seek to get the entire eligible population vaccinated.

Public must also be reminded of a fourth wave in China, no alarm but simply awareness that Covid is still present and cannot be dismissed. Anti-vaxxers must be reminded that the fears they spoke about with reference to side effects of the vaccines have not surfaced after two years, and then coaxed into taking the vaccine.

The communication strategy may need to change now and incorporate these factors if we want to close the gap completely. Let us be alive to the fact that gameplans must be fluid and respond to the vaccine times and status quo.

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