Only 54.41% healthcare workers, including doctors and nurses, have been vaccinated in Jammu and Kashmir even as 90 days have passed since the vaccine drive was started in the Union Territory (UT), according to the official data.
Winter capital Jammu has been able to inoculate 63.63% of doctors and paramedical staff but summer capital Srinagar reflected a very slow progress at 49.56%.
Out of 15,492 registered healthcare workers, only 3,946 have been inoculated in Srinagar, which houses all main tertiary care hospitals and its staff remains at the forefront of battle against the coronavirus pandemic.
According to the official data accessed by The Hindu , only 49,408 doctors and paramedic staff were vaccinated till April 19 out of 1.22 lakh healthcare workers registered. It included a significant number of doctors, officials said.
Kashmir valley’s Bandipora and Ganderbal districts have the lowest of 42.88% and 42.65% vaccinated healthcare workers respectively.
Senior officials in these two districts admitted that they were worried that a large number of healthcare workers remain susceptible to the second wave and this could affect the efficiency of the health department.
According to the official data, the Jammu region’s Udhampur has the highest vaccinated healthcare workers at 65.63%.
Sources said that senior health department officials had directed the staff to speed up vaccination of doctors, as there was a surge in cases during the past fortnight. Srinagar records around 500 cases per day in the past one week.
Meanwhile, the staff at Srinagar’s Jawahar Lal Nehru Memorial Hospital, where the number of COVID-19 patients was swelling, have been advised by the director health to use one room per person as a retiring room and prevent mingling of healthcare staff “to avoid any transmission among the doctors and paramedics”.