ANANTAPUR: Pressure from political and higher officials led to many irregularities in vaccinations of people below 45 years in the name of frontline warriors of the state.
It may be recalled that union government had been particular about first vaccinating people above 45 years of age throughout the country. It relaxed the rule only for frontline warriors aged below 45 years, like those working at primary and urban health centres and police personnel on duty.
Sources in Medical and Health Department of Anantapur district reveal that using this as pretext, at least 10 percent of those vaccinated between 18–45 years had been totally ineligible, as they did not fall in any category of frontline warriors. They mainly comprised those known to corporators, municipal councillors or MLAs, apart from senior officials. Details of many such people had not even been uploaded on the website. Many of those vaccinated in this manner had been doses, which were shown in records as vials broken or damaged.
"We had no other choice but to vaccinate hundreds of housewives and students by registering them as frontline warriors,” a senior official of Medical and Health department in Anantapur district disclosed on condition of anonymity.
A health official of a ward in Anantapur civic body told Deccan Chronicle that though only students going abroad could be vaccinated, many local students too got their doses as officials had been pressurised by local leaders.
According to reports, 2,66,17,972 persons have so far been vaccinated in the state as on August 23, with 1,05,37,294 getting their first dose and 70,80,678 given both their shots. The union government had allowed mass inoculation for 18 plus people only from May 1 under its 'liberalised' vaccination drive. But Andhra Pradesh took permission from central ministry of health to defer vaccinations to 18+ till the state first completes vaccinating at least one dose to all people above 45 years of age.
Vijayawada Municipal Corporation has only now officially launched vaccination of persons below 45 years. In Anantapur, doses started being given to people between 18–45 years of age only from Tuesday, after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy issued orders to this effect.
But a sizable section of 18–45 group got vaccinated much earlier, thanks to machinations of politicians and officials.
