One-third of Bengaluru population has received 1st dose of Covid-19 vaccine: Data

A third of Bengaluru’s population has received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine as of Sunday, while the number of people who have received the second dose is significantly less, according to official data.

As per data from the Department of Health, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) and Co-Win, a total of 38,34,843 had received the first dose in the city (including both Bengaluru Urban and BBMP) as of Sunday night. That translates to roughly about 34% of the city’s estimated target population of 1.1 cr people aged 18 and above.

“At the current pace, by June-end, 50 per cent of all adults in BBMP would have received at least one dose. The drive would continue further to cover the maximum possible population. For the second dose, we would like to keep the pace till the job is done,” said BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta.

However, the second dose coverage is proving to be problematic, as officials race to inoculate citizens with the second wave receding after devastating the tech hub.

As per the data, only 7,37,521 people across the city (or 6.6 per cent of the target population) have been fully vaccinated till date.

Epidemiologist Dr Giridhar Babu said the expanded interval between doses for Covishield, which is now 12-16 weeks, means that a significant percentage of the population is not eligible to receive the second dose anytime soon. For Covaxin, the interval between doses is four to six weeks.

A screenshot of the Co-Win portal showing the number of vaccinations done by age group in Bengaluru since January 16, 2021.

Calculations show that the city will have to vaccinate about 92,000 people per day if it wants to vaccinate the entire target population with the requisite two doses by December 31, 2021.

Dr Babu clarified that this “target population” calculation is limited to adults aged 18 and above. Vaccination for children will take longer to complete.

According to data, the BBMP vaccinated over 95,000 people per day from May 28 within the corporation’s limits. While dosage numbers crossed over 1.10 lakhs on occasions, vaccination numbers fell short substantially on other days. On June 6, for example, only 43,968 doses were administered.

From March 28 to June 13, the BBMP administered an average of 85,384 doses per day.

Meanwhile, the statewide vaccination coverage is lagging behind.

Out of a target population of 7.08 cr people (as per the Department of Health and Family Welfare), 1.69 crore people have received the first dose and 30.9 lakh the second dose.

This means that 23.8 per cent of state population has received the first dose while a mere 4.36% the second dose.