Mumbai hits 100% first dose mark; many still not inoculated
The city’s eligible adult population is 9,236,546, and by 10pm on Friday night, 9,253,647 were inoculated with at least one dose. An estimated 10-20% people who have got the Covid-19 vaccine in Mumbai are likely to be from other parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region or rest of Maharashtra
Three hundred and one days after the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination programme was rolled out on January 16, Mumbai achieved 100% first dose coverage on Saturday, November 13. The city’s eligible adult population is 9,236,546, and by 10pm last night, 9,253,647 were vaccinated with at least one dose, 0.18% higher than the target. At the same time, 6,033,148 people were given the second dose according to the Central government’s CoWin dashboard, taking the city’s full vaccination coverage to 65%.
To be sure, Mumbai may have statistically achieved the milestone of 100% first dose coverage, but the city will have to administer many more doses to truly cover its entire adult population. The reason: An estimated 10-20% people who have got the Covid-19 vaccine in Mumbai are likely to be from other parts of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) or the rest of Maharashtra.
“We are definitely accounting for this slight mismatch. Therefore, our vaccination drive will continue aggressively,” said Mumbai’s executive health officer Dr Mangala Gomare. “We will have to reach much beyond 100%,” she said.
The last mile coverage may therefore be a few more days away, experts said, and a small percentage of the population could still choose to remain unvaccinated due to personal choice, hesitancy or other reasons. “No other district in the country has managed to reach the 100% target in such a short time,” said Mumbai’s additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani. “It has been a collective effort. We achieved it because of the sincere contribution of all municipal workers, private hospitals, NGOs and people on the ground.”
Mumbai reached the 1 million doses (both doses included) mark on March 25. The 9 million doses landmark was attained on August 24. On September 4, Mumbai became the first district in India to administer 10 million doses, and on November 10, it crossed the 15 million mark. As of Saturday, Mumbai had administered 15,286,627 combined doses.
According to Kakani, decentralising vaccination centres played a crucial role in achieving the target. As the city moves to increase its first dose coverage beyond 100% and achieve the second dose target, new, micro strategies are being designed.
Infectious disease expert and member of Maharashtra’s Covid-19 task force Dr Om Srivastava said that 100% first dose coverage is “great news.” “It means the city is better protected than earlier. But we cannot let our guard down. The virus is unpredictable, and there are countries that are seeing large number of cases even now. France has announced it is experiencing a fifth wave,” he said.
On Friday, World Health Organisation chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Covid-19 cases were not only surging in eastern European countries with lower vaccination rates, but also in western Europe, which is among the world’s highest vaccinated geographies.
Vaccination in Mumbai first began on January 16 along with the rest of the country for healthcare workers; on February 5 for frontline workers; on March 1 for citizens above 60 years of age; on April 1 for citizens in 45-59 years age group; and on May 1 for all adult citizens. Vaccination for lactating mothers began on May 26, and for pregnant women from July 14.
On Day One, Mumbai had just 10 vaccinations centres, but that number has grown to 462 public and private vaccination centres with a capacity of over 123,000 inoculations per day.
Dr Naveen Thacker, vaccination expert and a former civil society organisation representative to GAVI, the vaccine alliance, said, “Mumbai has shown 100% vaccination is achievable. Other districts in the country should follow suit. This should be a barrier between the city and the anticipated third wave,” he said.
So far this month, in Maharashtra, Covid numbers seem to be declining gradually. The first 13 days of November saw a 61.14% drop in cases compared to the first 13 days of October. Similarly, on October 13, active cases in the state totalled 29,555. On November 13, they had dropped 58.65% to 12,219. The corresponding active cases for Mumbai were 5997 and 3577, a drop of 40.65%.