75 per cent of Navi Mumbai given first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, 28 per cent fully vaccinated

A beneficiary gets vaccinated at a special camp at Nerul Hospital

With the fear of the third wave looming, the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) is leaving no stone unturned to fully vaccinate its population. About 75 per cent (8.22 lakh) of the city's 11 lakh adult population has received the first dose and 28 per cent (2.99 lakh) the second shot. Of those who have received the first dose, 56 per cent is in the 18 to 45 years group. The civic body is now focusing more on administering second doses so that it can fully vaccinate the majority of the population.

As the second wave of the pandemic has receded in the city, daily cases have come down to about 40-50 per day. Navi Mumbai has 708 active cases, of which 30 are admitted in the corporation's ICU facility at CIDCO Exhibition Centre.

To minimise hospitalisations due to Covid complications, the NMMC is emphasising on fully vaccinating the population. To conduct mass vaccinations, the civic body has held various special drives for people who fall under high-risk groups. The NMMC had earlier set a target of inoculating 8 lakh residents by July end.

Also read: Mumbai: 2,749 bedridden citizens vaccinated against Covid-19 in a month

A civic official said, "Despite supply being low, we have managed to inoculate people from different sections of the society, for whom otherwise it would have been difficult to get inoculated. We have given permission to medical facilities having the required infrastructure to set up vaccination centres, so that residents can easily get their jabs." "We had planned to reach this stage by the end of July, but we have managed well even though we took 25 days more to cross the 8-lakh figure," he added.

Speaking to mid-day, NMMC Commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, said, "It's good that we have inoculated about 8 lakh citizens. But in order to minimise the impact of the third wave, we must fully vaccinate our citizens. We are also being supported by private hospitals and NGOs. The next 30 days are crucial as the infection rate may increase with everything opening up."

Vaxxed
First dose: 8,02,245
Second dose: 2,99,869
Total: 11 lakh (approx)