At 76%, Maha sees its highest turnout so far

MUMBAI: Maharashtra on Friday inoculated 21,610 healthcare workers (HCWs) across 282 centres in the state’s fourth vaccination drive so far. The state achieved its highest percentage of turnout on Friday at 76%, owing to the decision to allow walk-ins for HCWs at the centres to get the vaccine. Mumbai recorded 92% turnout on Friday and vaccinated 3,539 HCWs against the expected 3,852, Mumbai civic body said.

Dr Pradeep Vyas, state health secretary, said since the vaccination drive commenced on January 16, 74,000 HCWs in Maharashtra have been inoculated.

Of the shots given on Friday, 318 were Covaxin, developed by Bharat Biotech, Vyas said. With the next vaccination session scheduled for Saturday, the state could get close to the landmark of vaccinating 100,000 HCWs.

According to a health department official, the decision to allow all registered HCWs to voluntarily come at centres without prior appointment has helped the state boost its numbers.

Beed district, as per a statement from health department, recorded 151% turnout with 757 people being vaccinated, while Hingoli saw a 117% turnout with 234 HCWs being inoculated. Amravati saw inoculation of 557 HCWs and registered a turnout of 111%. Wardha saw inoculation of 657 HCWs, a 110% turnout, the statement added. Osmanabad saw a turnout of 103% with 309 HCWs getting the shot.

“We had anticipated an increase in numbers. The entire jump in numbers cannot be attributed to just allowing walkins. Some percentage of doctors and HCWs are gradually coming on their scheduled day as well,” said a health department official.

Buldhana and Pune districts, meanwhile, were at the bottom in terms of turnout. Buldhana saw 43% turnout with 256 HCWs getting the vaccine. Pune, which has 28% of the state’s active caseload with 12,926 cases, reported 44% turnout with 1,275 HCWs being vaccinated on Friday.

CoWIN app, meanwhile, continued to have issues including slow performance and erratic functioning, officials said.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Friday reported 2,779 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking tally to 2,003,657. The active caseload stood at 44,926. Mumbai reported 483 new cases, pushing the tally to 305,136. The state also reported 50 fatalities on Friday, taking toll to 50,684. The case fatality rate in the state is 2.53% while recovery rate improved to 95.17%.

A healthcare worker at the vaccination centre at Shatabdi Hospital, Kandivli, on Friday.