BBMP goes full steam ahead on vaccination drive

The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has vaccinated close to 60 per cent of population in the 45+ age group, after it stepped up inoculation drive across Bengaluru in the past few weeks.

The civic body has set a target of 75 per cent and embarked on door-to-door assessment of beneficiaries at booth levels using voters’ list.

Giving details of the vaccination programme in Bengaluru, BBMP Chief Commissioner Gaurav Gupta said, “Going by the voters’ list, Bengaluru has about 26 lakh people in the 45 years and above category. Out of these, 15.43 lakh have been vaccinated with at least one dose, with an average of close to 60 per cent. In another month, we aim to achieve the target of 75 per cent for this category. We may require 4 lakh doses more."

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The BBMP is yet to commence vaccination for those above 18 years while it is inoculating people falling under priority groups. “We have been vaccinating many in this category in collaboration with private hospitals. Several MNCs, software firms and manufacturing units are directly collaborating with private hospitals for vaccinating their employees. Residents' associations have also been arranging camps across the city," Gupta said.

The city has about 64 lakh people in the 18-44 years category, out of which 9 lakh have already been vaccinated as they fall into priority groups, he said. "Our aim is to cover at least 32 lakh people in this category in the next 30 days in collaboration with private hospitals. For this, we require about 23 lakh additional doses."

While the BBMP has set a target of one lakh vaccinations per day, the civic body vaccinated 1.17 lakh people on Friday alone and 1.15 lakh on Saturday with support. According to officials, Bengaluru Urban stands fifth at the national level for maximum vaccinations after Gurugram, Chennai, Kolkata and Vadodara.