Hyderabad: They were out in the forefront in their tens of thousands as the state geared up to combat the fast-spreading Covid-19 last year. Many continue to do so today. However, when it comes to receiving a vaccine for Covid-19, frontline workers in Telangana state appear to be a reluctant lot.
As on Friday, only 37.9 per cent of Telangana state’s frontline workers - from the police, panchayat raj, municipalities, among others — have come forward to take the first dose of the vaccine. According to the state health department, of the 2,57,239 workers, only 97,646 have received their first dose of the vaccine so far.
The picture with respect to healthcare workers, from both the government and the private sector, is also not very rosy but only a little better than that of the frontline workers. The government planned to provide the first dose of vaccine to 3,31,097 healthcare workers but, as on Friday, 1,97,895 had received their first dose, accounting to 59.7 per cent of the target.
The health department said that 1,47,630 healthcare workers had received their second dose of the vaccine. The government has been simultaneously delivering the second dose to healthcare workers who got their first shots early after the campaign began on January 16.
