In good news for Mumbaikars, the city became the first among all metros in the country to give both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine to its entire adult population, also becoming the first among Maharashtra’s districts to achieve the feat.
The city reached the 100% milestone in the 18-plus age group, leaving behind Delhi and Bengaluru, which have given the second shot to less than 95% of their population, the Times of India reported. Mumbai is also leading in terms of the Maharashtra average, where barely 74% of the 9.14 crore adults have been covered with both shots. The city has administered 2.05 crore doses since the national vaccination drive began on January 16, 2021.
Talking about the feat, BMC’s additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani lauded the civic teams and local representatives. “Few expect adult vaccination to reach 100%, but we got there because of community participation and awareness about the role of immunisation,” he said.
Kakani added that vaccination in Mumbai started with 10 centres, which over the months expanded to over 400, including the private sector.
The news also comes as a relief for the city, which was one of the worst affected during the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. As cases continue to decline, Maharashtra has relaxed the mask mandate and achieving 100 per cent vaccination is likely to further stem the possibility of a fresh wave.
Dr Shashank Joshi, member of the state taskforce, called the vaccination feat a welcome development. “With a large exposure to the disease and saturated vaccination coverage, we can breathe easy unless there is a new variant,” he was quoted as saying by TOI.
There will be no slowdown in momentum, said Dr Mangala Gomare, BMC executive health officer. “We roped in NGOs to vaccinate the bedridden, individuals without identity proof documents, and the transgender community to ensure no one was left behind,” she said, explaining how the last mile was reached. She added local representatives and the private sector played a significant role too.
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