Agartala (Tripura) [India]: Principal Secretary to Tripura Health and Family Welfare Department, JK Sinha on Monday informed that over 80,000 eligible beneficiaries of the COVID-19 vaccine did not turn up for the second dose after the stipulated period of 84 days in the state. The state government has started the ‘Knock the Door’ programme to reach out to the people who did not turn up for the second dose. According to Sinha, it has affected the state’s performance at the national level in administering the vaccine doses effectively. “If we take Agartala Municipal Corporation as an example, everyone received the first dose of the COVID vaccine but more than 80,000 people did not turn up for the second dose even after the 84 days period passed. The exact number as of today stands at 81,465 but approximately the figure stands close to 80,000. They should have received the final dose but they did not.” Sinha said. “Targeting these people, we started a programme called ‘Knock the Door’ under which we reached out to the people who did not turn up for the second dose,” the Principal Secretary said. He also laid emphasis on the challenges his department faced in administering doses. “Many of these beneficiaries who missed the second dose could not be traced out at the first place for invalid mobile numbers. Either they switched over to other networks or left the old numbers. The health officials failed to contact them over the phone. When they were reached out physically it was found that the lion’s share of the beneficiaries received the vaccines but due to the changed phone number, they could not register under the standard system. These people came under the category which did not reflect in the national portal. Consequently, Tripura’s performance at the national level could not touch the desired height,” he added. Sinha also said that till August 2021 Tripura was about to touch the top number. However, the Principal Secretary to Tripura Health and Family Welfare Department appealed to the people to be cautious about the contagion and receive their doses in time. Explaining Tripura’s success in battling the COVID-19, Sinha said, “In Tripura, timely inoculation saved lives of thousands of people. In neighbouring North Eastern states like Mizoram, Manipur and others, the death toll crossed the thousand-mark in the second wave but in Tripura, we succeeded to restrict the total death to 400. Loss of any life is painful but to be precise timely vaccination when the COVID cases were at the peak, Tripura administered doses and succeeded in minimising the effects.”
