The target set: 30 lakh doses in 30 days. New target: Covering the city’s estimated 91 lakh citizens aged above 18 years over the next four months. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has set itself an ambitious target, but Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta, said it is doable.
As on June 19 (till 6 p.m.), 44.49 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccinations had been administered in the BBMP limits. Over 37.59 lakh citizens have been administered the first dose.
As per population projections, there are 26 lakh citizens aged above 45 years, of whom over 15 lakh have already been vaccinated. There are nearly 66 lakh citizens in the 18-44 age bracket. Over the next 30 days, the civic body hopes to cover 45 lakh citizens across all age groups.
The BBMP gets around 8 lakh doses a month from the government, with which around 30,000 vaccinations are administered in government/ BBMP run facilities. Over 70,000 doses are administered in private healthcare facilities. “On an average, around 1 lakh vaccine doses are administered every day in the city,” said Mr. Gupta.
With experts predicting an outbreak of the third wave in six to eight weeks if COVID-19 appropriate behaviour is not followed, the civic body is prioritising vaccinating the city’s adult population.
While vaccines for COVID-19 are not a silver bullet, they do offer another layer of protection. “It certainly protects citizens and helps contain the spread of the virus. More vaccinations means a better prepared Bengaluru,” said Mr. Gupta.
Admitting that neither the BBMP nor the State government alone can achieve this objective given the variation in supply of vaccines, the civic body is trying to leverage the strength of the private healthcare sector.
Towards this end, the civic body was helping organisations, donors and corporates organise vaccine drives as well as offering customized solutions to multiple stakeholders to ensure maximum coverage. “It’s a win-win situation; while private healthcare players are helping us ramp up vaccinations, it is also a business for them, as they cater to those who can afford to pay. The government/ BBMP is covering citizens belonging to vulnerable sections, along with a few philanthropic organisations, donors, corporates etc.,” said Mr. Gupta.
