Mumbai: Vaccination capacity no match for BMC ambition

Even as the civic body wants to vaccinate over 90 lakh citizens above the age of 18 years hardly 15 per cent of the population in this age group has been fully vaccinated so far The BMC had expected to fully vaccinate 70 to 80 per cent of this population by September or October to blunt the third Covid19 wave But the shortage of vaccines and the resultant dip in vaccinations seem to have dashed those hopesOn the other hand more than 54 per cent of the eligible population has been vaccinated with the first doseWith the city yet to open up officially a high number of fully vaccinated people would have been helpful for the BMC to relax Covidrelated curbs officials said Although vaccination numbers are not the only factor in opening up the city it would have helped make a decision fasterAdditional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said ldquoMore than 54 per cent of the eligible population has been administered the first dose and we are hoping that their immunity too has started to kick in And we are sure those who are completing their 84 days after the first dose are turning up in large numbersrdquoAlso read Crack down on all officials responsible Centre to statesA man gets vaccinated at Asha Samaj Kalyan Kendra in Govandi on Wednesday PicSayyed Sameer AbediCurrently there are over 13 lakh fully vaccinated citizens and over 48 lakh citizens who have got their first doseldquoThe increased period between two doses of Covishield vaccine has also led to a lower number of fully vaccinated citizensrdquo a civic official saidAnother senior civic official added ldquoThe third wave is likely to hit whenever curbs are lifted mdash since this will result in crowds and large gatherings Vaccination was our key to overcome this problem But the limited supply of doses has translated into slower vaccination of citizens throwing our plans out of gearrdquo58 lakh Covishield dosesA total of 6233 lakh doses have been administered so far out of which almost 58 lakh doses are of Covishield There are only 11 lakh beneficiaries who have got both doses of Covishield while 46 lakh are waiting for the second oneCivic officials added that many Mumbai residents also went to nearby areas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR to get their shots and many from these areas came to the city for their vaccinations While the former category has not been counted in the cityrsquos vaccination numbers the latter category has been factored in ldquoFactoring them or not does not make much difference because people keep travelling between cities in the MMR Anyone entering Mumbai and being vaccinated is a plus for usrdquo a civic official saidNeed trains to reopenAnother official added ldquoWe cannot open up the city completely unless there is a decision on reopening locals for everyone For instance if malls and shops are completely opened the staff would need trains to travel to work In the absence of trains putting full pressure on road transport wonrsquot be possible Hence we are waiting for directives from the StaterdquoVax for pregnant women todayMeanwhile the city saw 65244 beneficiaries getting inoculated on Wednesday The number of senior citizens inoculated was 7805 of citizens above the age of 45 years was 24941 and of those in the age group of 18 to 44 years was 30299The civic body is also going to start the vaccination drive free of cost for pregnant women at 35 of its vaccine centres on Thursday54Per cent of eligible city population that has got the first vax dose58No of Covishield doses in lakhs administered so far11No of fully vaxxed in lakhs given Covisheild