12 May,2021 05:03 AM IST | Mumbai | Prajakta Kasale
People wait for jabs at Nair hospital on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje
With no solution in sight for the problems arising due to the acute shortage of vaccines in the city, citizens are set to face a new challenge now. About 50 per cent (7.16 lakh) of the 16.28 lakh citizens above 45 years of age, who have received the first dose of vaccines, will need the second dose within the next two weeks. Of these, 2.75 lakh people have already completed the six-week gap required between the two doses.
A woman waits to get vaccinated as a health worker prepares a dose at Nair hospital on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje
To ensure that the beneficiaries get their second doses on time, the city needs to administer at least 30,000-35,000 second doses daily in the next three weeks as against the 15,000 given daily in the last 10 days. While there are an estimated 40 lakh citizens above the age of 45 years, less than 40 per cent of them (16.28 lakh) has received the first dose till May 9. But only 4.27 lakh of them have been lucky to get the second dose.
Ideally there should be a gap of 28 days between two doses of Covaxin. Earlier, it was the same for Covishield as well, but on March 22 the central government asked all states to increase the gap to six to eight weeks. More than 95 per cent of the beneficiaries has been administered Covishield, but many are yet to get the second dose even after completing a gap of two months. The problem is more severe for those who took Covaxin as the city hardly has any stock of the jab.
As per official data, 2.75 lakh citizens who received their first dose before April 1 have not got the second dose till now. Additionally, 4.42 lakh people received the first dose of the vaccine between April 1 and April 12, and they need to get the second one within the next two to three weeks. This means the city needs 7.17 lakh second doses to inoculate senior citizens in the next two to three weeks with an average of 30,000 to 35,000 vaccinations per day. But in the last 10 days, only 1,50,835 people have been given the second dose at an average of 15,000 vaccinations per day.
Beneficiaries get vaccinated at Nair hospital on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje
Apart from senior citizens, 4.09 lakh health care and frontline workers have received the first dose and of them only 2.36 lakh have got the second one. Out of the 4.09 lakh, 41,293 workers had taken the first dose a month back and they will need the second dose in the next two weeks.
Requesting anonymity, a BMC official said, "We are giving vaccines as per the state government's guidelines. We don't have control over the stock of vaccines. But if we receive enough stock, we have the infrastructure to give it to citizens within the stipulated time."
Vaccination of 45+ as of May 9
>> Citizens who got the first dose: 16,28,464
>> Citizens who got both doses: 4,27,551
>> Citizens who got the first dose six weeks back (before April 1): 2,74,997
>> Citizens who got the first dose four weeks back (before April 12): 7,16,912
