Low vaccine supply could open door for third wave: Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation

A student receives his first Covid-19 shot at Maasaheb Meenatai Thackeray Hospital, Nerul, on Tuesday

The Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC), which is preparing for the potential next outbreak of Covid-19, says it is facing a threat of a massive third wave due to a shortage of vaccines and continued low supply. The city has 8 lakh-odd citizens eligible for vaccination.

According to the NMMC's data till May 31, a total of 3,10,576 citizens have received their first dose, but only around 1 lakh of them have been fully vaccinated. Currently, the NMMC is vaccinating an average of 1,000 to 1,200 people daily, and the authorities are worried as the slow pace will open a window for fresh infections.

"Apart from increasing beds, oxygen facilities and ICU beds, equal attention should be given to vaccination as well. But this is the only part where we are having serious issues," said an NMMC official on condition of anonymity.

The NMMC is also struggling to immunise all citizens aged 45 years and above. The city has nearly 4.5 lakh people in this age group, but almost half of them have not been vaccinated yet. The corporation has the capacity of vaccinating 25,000 citizens daily across 34 centres, but is facing acute shortage of vaccine supply.

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"The supply of vaccines is too low. While we received 1.65 lakh doses in April, we got barely 30,000-odd doses in May. Still, we ensured the vaccines were distributed evenly across NMMC-run centres. On June 1, only 1,200 vaccine shots were available and we set aside 200 of them for students going abroad," said another NMMC official. "We are saving the day by managing each and every dose. But if the low supply continues for a couple of more months, a massive third wave, hitting more people with severe symptoms, is inevitable," he added.

To reduce the scarcity, the NMMC had floated a global tender for 4 lakh doses for Covid-19 vaccines. Till now, four suppliers of Sputnik V, a vaccine made in Russia, have approached the civic body and discussion with them is underway.

The only silver lining

The vaccination at the city's private hospitals is the only silver lining in Navi Mumbai for now, as they are administering a daily average of more than 4,000 doses.

Hospitals like Apollo, Reliance and Hiranandani Fortis are holding special camps at housing societies. On May 31, close to 5,000 citizens were vaccinated by the private players.

8 Lakh
Total no. of Navi Mumbai citizens eligible for jab

1 Lakh
Approx no. of Navi Mumbai citizens vaccinated fully