The lurking fear of a possible third wave of COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a surge in vaccine demand in the district, which continued to report a test positivity rate of around 2%.
Several villages, including Banigallapadu and Jamalapuram, in Yerrupalem mandal and a few other villages in the border mandals of Kallur and Madhira have been identified as potential high-risk areas for ramping up the vaccination drive to rein in the sporadic cases of COVID-19, sources said.
As many as 156 persons tested positive for COVID-19 at the designated testing centres in the district on Friday, added sources. Around 200 persons in the district had been diagnosed with the infection on Thursday.
However, sources in the health department maintained that the COVID-19 daily count significantly dropped from around 300 in the first week of this month to around 156 cases on Friday.
Nearly 4,423 beneficiaries were administered the vaccine at 39 Government COVID-19 Vaccination Centres in the district on Friday.
In Bhadradri-Kothagudem district, the COVID positivity rate remained below 1%. The supply of vaccine vials has improved in the last couple of days when compared to a fortnight ago, said a staff member at the Primary Health Centre at Sulanagar in Tekulapally mandal.
“Misconceptions about vaccine continue to prevail among a section of people living in remote tribal pockets,” Sailu, a farmer from Mutyalampadu village, pointed out, suggesting that an intensive awareness campaign coupled with adequate allocation of vaccine vials to the tribal mandals was the need of the hour to prevent the possible third wave.