It would take some more time as focus now was on college students
The proposed vaccination drive of industrial workforce in the age group of 18 to 44 years to enable smooth and unhindered production in the manufacturing units is yet to get started in Mysuru. This has been attributed to vaccine shortage and the current thrust on vaccinating college students.
Though such camps have been conducted in other parts of the State including industrial areas in Bengaluru, not a single day’s camp has been conducted by the authorities in Mysuru so far. However, major industrial houses have conducted their own drive at their cost to get their workers vaccinated on their respective factory premises.
But Suresh Kumar Jain, General Secretary, Mysuru Industries Association, said more than 75 per cent of the industrial units in Mysuru are categorised under MSMEs and would not have funds to get their employees vaccinated. It is different in the case of larger industries and many have conducted the drive at the company’s cost, he added.
It is exactly a month since the government issued a circular stating that in order to permit all the industrial units to start functioning it was essential to ensure that the industrial workers are vaccinated. This would also help prevent closure of industries during a possible third wave and production could continue unhindered.
Lingaraju, Deputy Director, District Industries Centre, Mysuru said the details of the number of workers eligible for the dose and the vaccines required has been submitted to the government. “But we have been asked to wait as the thrust was on vaccinating the college students. Hence the special coverage of industrial workers will take some more time’’, he added.
Other sources said that the first-dose percentage coverage in Mysuru was among the highest in the State at 76.91 per cent of the total targeted population and it was likely that a majority of the industrial workers too would have been covered in it.
But Mr. Jain pointed out that not all workers have been covered and the second dose coverage was faltering due to a perceived vaccine shortage and stood at less than 25 per cent of the total targeted population. Hence it was imperative to ensure that the double dose of all the industrial workers was completed to ensure that the industrial activity continued unhindered.
It is reckoned that there are nearly 2.5 lakh industrial workers in Mysuru district of whom almost 75,000 were above 45 years of age. So a majority were in the age group of 18 to 44 years and were yet to receive the jab, said Mr. Jain.
Other stakeholders in the industrial sector said until the entire workforce was covered by vaccination the production will remain sluggish.
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