NephroPlus is organising a “COVID-19 Vaccination Drive” to educate Dialysis Patients

National, April 1^st 2021 – NephroPlus, India’s largest dialysis care network and a leader in redefining dialysis care in India, is organizing a national education drive on COVID-19 vaccination for dialysis patients across their centers. This initiative is launched to drive awareness about the importance of the COVID-19 vaccination and further guide the patients on the registration process for the vaccine. The sole aim of the initiative is to dispel certain myths associated with taking the vaccine and encourage them by addressing the concerns they might have on the safety and efficacy of the vaccine.

Dialysis patients are at very high risk of getting affected with COVID-19, as they have very low immunity as compared to healthy individuals. As per a recent manuscript that is being published in the upcoming edition of the reputed International Journal, ‘Kidney International Reports’, COVID-19 prevalence among dialysis patients is about 20 times higher than the healthy population. Around 99% of patients who were admitted to the hospital had to stay for a minimum of 12 days. Mortality amongst those infected was about 23%, and mortality among those > 55 years of age was 3 times higher than those <30 years old.

Speaking about this, Mr. Vikram Vuppala, Founder and CEO of NephroPlus said, “Dialysis patients are highly immune-compromised which means their immunity levels are much poorer than the healthy population. Also, they have to visit a dialysis center three times a week, which puts them at a high risk of contracting novel Coronavirus. This means that we really need to work hard to get most of them vaccinated as soon as possible. We at NephroPlus are looking forward to this drive, as we want to build awareness amongst our Guests and other dialysis patients, address their concerns and help them register for vaccination as soon as possible”.

Adding to this, Kamal D Shah, Co-Founder & Director of Guest Services, NephroPlus says, “During the pandemic, cases have increased drastically and this is a matter of concern as dialysis patients have two things going against them. One is their increased risk of exposure to the novel Coronavirus in high-risk hospital environments. Second is their inherent kidney disease that causes their outcomes to be poorer if they contract the disease. Therefore it is our job to make efforts to build awareness and get more people to take the vaccine. Through this initiative, NephroPlus hopes to ease their lives by taking the first step towards a safer future.”