SHILLONG, Jan 10: Along with the rest of the country, Meghalaya started administering precautionary or booster doses to targeted groups on Monday.
The first day saw a low turnout at different centres opened for administering the booster dose. Officials expect the number of beneficiaries to increase later this week.
A total of 2,375 booster doses were administered on the day.
Principal Secretary of Health, Sampath Kumar, said the booster dose is important especially for those who took their COVID vaccines initially when the gap between two doses was quite short.
The booster doses will initially be given to healthcare personnel, frontline workers and people above 60 years with comorbidities.
The state government opened 157 centres – 57 of them in East Khasi Hills – to administer the doses.
Citing the recommendation of the State Medical Expert Committee, Kumar said priority has been given to those who had taken both doses of the vaccine when the gap between two jabs was four weeks.
In addition, the department has listed the 60-plus population for the department to plan door-to-door vaccination for them.
Kumar said more awareness is required to be disseminated and the government is ready with the Cowin system where people can register for their booster dose.
Meanwhile, a visit to one of the centres in the first hour of the drive showed only a few had turned up. Some eager to get the booster dose were turned away as they had no comorbidities.
Debojit Konwar, a Shillong resident, had taken the responsibility to take his mother for the booster dose but was also told it was only for those with comorbidities. “I felt the need to bring my mother because it would give her more protection,” he said.
Another resident, a healthcare worker, after taking his booster dose said people will start turning up for the precautionary jab before long. He said he received his second dose in March last year.
