47% of people above 60 years in Navi Mumbai yet to get first vaccination against Covid

Out of the estimated 11.07 lakh eligible for vaccination against Covid in Navi Mumbai, 1.76 lakh is estimated to be above 60 years; so far, only 92,894 people in this category, which is 53%, have got their first jab

Even as the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) has vaccinated 98% of its eligible population, as per the statistics, around 47% of the people above the age of 60 years are yet to get even their first jab.

Only 53% of the people above 60 years in Navi Mumbai have been given first vaccination dose against Covid, according to Navi Mumbai civic body. (BACHCHAN KUMAR/HT PHOTO)

NMMC commissioner, Abhijit Bangar, claimed that a door-to-door survey would be conducted to check how many beneficiaries were remaining while a call centre would also be set up to check with families to ensure no senior citizen is left out.

Currently, 11.07 lakh population of Navi Mumbai is estimated to be eligible for the vaccination, of which 1.76 lakh is estimated to be above the age of 60 years. Till now, only 92,894 people above the age group of 60 years have got their first jab, which is 53% of the total estimated population of this age group. Around 34,445 people under the category of Health Care Workers were also jabbed with the first dose.

“Currently, we do not differentiate the beneficiaries as per the health care workers and front line workers, and each person is reported under their respective age group. Hence, when the vaccination had started for the health care workers, many medical professionals who were above 60 years got their vaccination under that category,” a medical officer from the corporation said.

Meanwhile, Bangar said that the data of estimated target is notional and not the exact number. Hence, it is important to get the exact numbers of the people above the age group of 60 in the city to conclude if there is anyone remaining.

“Even when there was low supply of vaccination, we have always had at least one slot for the first dose of 60 years-plus. So, this age group was never neglected and was always given priority. There is no reason why anyone from 60 years and above would be left out. There was never any reluctance from this age group and they were always eager to get the vaccination done. Accessibility, too, is not the reason as the drive for them was always available. In fact the queue for the first dose is declining slowly and even after we reach 100% target, the first dose drive will continue for those with no proof of being a resident of Navi Mumbai,” Bangar said.

He said that the target statistics is a notional figure and to get the exact figure, a door-to-door survey would be done, and simultaneously will have call centres verifying the exact number of 60 years and above existing in the city.

“Through various drives and initiatives, we have collected the data of the families in Navi Mumbai and their family members. The call centre staff will be asked to call up the families and check if the senior citizens at their residences have been vaccinated. Besides, we also have around 3,500 housing societies registered with us who are also connected via WhatsApp. The housing societies, too, would be asked to provide the information.”

In many cases, the elderly were shifted to their hometowns when the pandemic started and while some might have still not come back, some others might have returned after getting their vaccination done, due to which their record is not registered with the NMMC.

According to the corporation, the target given by the State to Navi Mumbai is to vaccinate 11.07 lakh population, of which 10.95 lakh have been vaccinated with the first dose and 12,000 are pending. In the age group of 45 years to 59 years, the target given to the corporation is to vaccinate 2,49,600 beneficiaries, of which 2,25,510 (89%) have been vaccinated with the first dose and 11% are remaining. Meanwhile, for the age group of 18 years to 44 years, the target is to vaccinate 6,81,300 beneficiaries while the corporation has vaccinated more than that with 7,12,087 getting their first dose.