Mumbai becomes first megacity to double vaccinate its adult population, says BMC

According to BMC, all the 9,236,000 citizens who were eligible for the two doses of Covid vaccination have been double jabbed

Mumbai: Fifteen months after Covid-19 vaccination started, Mumbai reached the 100% mark for double vaccinated adults on Tuesday. With this, Mumbai became the first mega city to fully vaccinate its adult population, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Tuesday.

The vaccination for Covid-19 had started in January 2021 wherein healthcare workers were first made eligible for the vaccine followed by frontline workers (HT PHOTO)

According to BMC, all the 9,236,000 citizens who were eligible for the two doses of Covid vaccination have been double jabbed. The 50% mark was crossed in October 2021.

The vaccination for Covid-19 had started in January 2021 wherein healthcare workers were first made eligible for the vaccine followed by frontline workers. From March 2021, all senior citizens were made eligible for the vaccine. From May 2021, all citizens above 18 years of age were made eligible for the jab.

Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner of the BMC said, “On Tuesday, we have reached the 100% mark of vaccinating our eligible adult population above the age of 18 years. There were 9,236,000 eligible citizens who have been fully vaccinated with both the doses.”

Kakani added, “Mumbai is the first megacity to fully vaccinate its entire eligible population above the age of 18 years. We are also going to give the third dose to the adult population and are awaiting further directions from the government on it.”

Overall, 20,586,041 doses of Covid vaccines have been administered in the city by both private and public vaccination centres of which 415,505 are the third dose known as precautionary dose or booster shots.

For population below 18 years of age, the BMC said 48% population in 15-18 years of age are fully vaccinated and 10% partially vaccinated in 12-15 age group.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra reported 136 fresh infections on Tuesday, including 56 in Mumbai. There were four deaths due to Covid in the state, none in Mumbai.

In Mumbai, the hospitalization rate is around 0.06%, as per the figures released by the BMC. There are around 270 active cases in the city, of whom 16 are admitted in various hospitals for Covid-19 treatment.

In January, when the third wave was at its peak, the state recorded 1,001,614 cases, in February it reduced to 144,596 cases and in March it came down to only 8,319 cases. The drop in daily cases is reflected in the hospitalization rate, which is down to around 22% in the state as 191 patients out of 866 active cases were hospitalized in the state. The hospitalization rate was over 40% a month ago, on March 5.

“It is a good sign of the improving situation of Covid-19 in Maharashtra. There are hardly any hospitalizations happening at present,” said Dr Rahul Pandit, a member of the state task force.

Two years after restrictions were imposed on the public after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Maharashtra government lifted the last remaining curbs, including the wearing of masks, from April 1. The government has, however, added that masks, even though not compulsory, should still be worn “for the health and safety of all”. Vaccination is no longer a requirement to travel in public transport or to visit restaurants and other public places.

With inputs from Faisal Malik