More jabs at pvt centres than civic ones in July

THANE: Thane city has inoculated 24.49% of its overall eligible population till now with both the doses. Around 10.59% of the population between 18 and 44 years of age within Thane city have been vaccinated till now.

In the last two weeks, the vaccination drive faced a major setback due to the shortage of vaccine doses and heavy rains. In July so far, TMC has only managed to conduct vaccination on seven days. Out of these, the last three sessions were strictly for those awaiting the second dose. The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) has vaccinated 63,994 beneficiaries this month while private centres have vaccinated 73,248.

With the shortage of vaccine doses, the number of people opting for private centres has increased in the last two weeks in Thane city.

“Overall, Thane city has completed more than seven lakh vaccinations. There are 54.64% of those above 45 years who have been inoculated till now. From among these, 16% above 45 years have received the second dose while only 1.1% among the 18 to 44 age group has been jabbed twice,” said an officer from TMC.

Initially, the number of vaccinations conducted daily by private as well as TMC centres were on par. However, with the shortage of vaccines, the private centres are vaccinating more. From July 1 to 7, TMC vaccinated 25,188 beneficiaries while private centres completed 26,496 vaccinations. Whereas from July 8-15, TMC has vaccinated 20,331 beneficiaries and private centres, 26,293.

Convenience, better availability of vaccine doses for all age groups and easy access to centres are some of the benefits of the private vaccination centres in the city.

“We are trying to manage with the limited stock that we get. We do not keep any doses pending for the next day. Last week, we received only 13,900 doses and they were exhausted in two days. Since there is a limited stock available, we are giving priority to second dose vaccinations only,” said Dr Khusboo Tawri, medical officer, TMC.

Till now, TMC has completed vaccination of 4.6 lakh beneficiaries whereas private vaccinations jabbed 2.3 lakh.

Among private centres in the last one week, there has been a slight decline in vaccinations as well due to the unavailability of doses. “Only a slight dip in the number of private vaccinations was noticed last week. This week, due to heavy rains hardly any private vaccination was conducted. Till now, 70% of private vaccinations conducted have been in housing societies in Thane city. These are not only arranged by the societies themselves but also by political parties. Only 30% of vaccinations are conducted by factories, construction sites, corporate offices and other such workplace vaccinations,” said another officer from TMC.