50% of Bengaluru population have received at least one shot: Data

The first vaccine dose has been given to 5.06 million people in Bengaluru, while 914,000 people have received both shots.

More than 50% of the eligible population in Bengaluru has been given at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to the data available on CoWin portal. For the city preparing for the third wave of the pandemic, the number comes as a relief as experts had suggested that getting 75% of the population vaccinated by at least the first dose would blunt the effects of the third wave.

Bengaluru: A medic administers a dose of COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Bengaluru on Monday (PTI)

As per the CoWin app, 5.94 million people in Bengaluru have been given at least the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The first dose has been provided to 5.06 million people, while 914,000 people have received both shots. As per the Election Commission of India, Bengaluru city has 9 million eligible voters. However, the number of people eligible for vaccination is expected to be a little over 9.1 million.

With experts predicting a possible third wave of the coronavirus in October and November, experts say, the severity of the next wave will depend on how people are vaccinated in the coming four months.

“Only if we are able to build enough herd immunity can we blunt the impact of the third wave. But it is going to be a challenge,” said Dr CN Manjunath, member of Karnataka’s Covid-19 Task Force and director of Sri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research.

On the minimum target for vaccination to avoid a severe third wave, experts said anywhere between 60% and 75% of the population should get at least the first dose of the vaccine before the third wave hits. Manjunath said the state should vaccinate at least 70% population in the next four months. Dr Ravi V, virologist and a member of the Karnataka Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, also said 70-75% population should get at least the first dose of vaccination before the onset of the third wave.

Dr Vishal Rao, a member of the expert committee on Karnataka’s Covid task force, said the state should vaccinate at least 60% of the population to control the third wave. “So far, we have been vaccinating those above 45 years of age. But in the state, the majority of the population falls in the 18-44 age category. With multiple variants that are being reported, this age group is one of the most vulnerable sections. The pace at which we are going in Bengaluru is promising,” said Rao.

The second wave has shown an increase in the number of deaths in the 30-45 age group. A comparison of the numbers of the first and second wave shows that in the first wave, around 11 out of 100 deaths were reported in the 30-45 age group, while in the second wave, 16 out of 100 deaths were reported in this category. For the under-30 age category, in the first wave, 2.2% of deaths were reported in those under 30, while in the second wave, it increased to 2.9%, according to the state government data.

Meanwhile, Karnataka on Monday reported 2,576 new Covid-19 cases and 93 deaths, taking the caseload and toll to 2,837,206 and 34,836 respectively. Active cases stood at 97,592, dipping below 100,000 for the first time in four months. The positivity rate for the day was 1.92% and the Case Fatality Rate was recorded at 3.61%, a health department bulletin said.

Bengaluru Urban district logged 563 new cases and 18 deaths, the highest among the districts of the state. The city has so far reported 1,211,993 cases and 15,599 deaths, according to the bulletin.

However, the situation of vaccination across the state is much different. The population of Karnataka, according to the government projections, is approximately 65 million. According to the Karnataka election commission, around 51 million people in the state are eligible voters, which is roughly the estimated number of those eligible for the vaccination. So far, only 18 million people, or roughly 35%, have received at least one dose, of which 3.63 million have received both doses, according to the state data.

Karnataka administered a total of 333,325 vaccines on Monday, according to the state health department’s bulletin said.

A senior Karnataka health department official, on the condition of anonymity, said the focus was on Bengaluru because of the higher number of cases reported in the city. “However, with more vaccine doses coming to the state, the government is ramping up vaccination across the state. We have a good infrastructure in place to quickly vaccinate the population. By August, we expect the vaccination available to increase because of the new orders place. With that we expect we will be able to vaccinate as many people as possible before the third wave,” he said.