Covid-19: In Mumbai, demand for vaccines rising sharply

Earlier this year, as Covid-19 cases dipped to merely a handful, the vaccination centres noticed a drop in beneficiaries as well. Since the scare over a surge in China, the BMC and private hospitals have together been vaccinating about 700 people daily, up from about 200 before December 10.This has prompted the state government to ask the Centre for fresh stock.

Sources said the vaccination centres have sought stocks of anti-Covid vaccines, as the number of beneficiaries turning up for their shot has suddenly jumped. People have started inquiring about the availability of vaccines, they added.

Requesting anonymity, a senior health official said, "Lately, the daily average of people coming to get vaccinated against Covid-19 has come close to a thousand. In Mumbai, less than 200 people are taking the vaccine at BMC centres. Private hospitals vaccinated 571 people on Thursday."

A health official vaccinates a beneficiary against COVID-19. File Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

According to the BMC, all the 92,36,500 beneficiaries in the 18-plus age group have taken the first two doses of the vaccine. But, only 15 per cent (14,49,415) of the total eligible population has taken their booster dose. According to the experts, it is important for the public to take the booster for better protection against the Coronavirus, especially for vulnerable people.

Also Read: Mumbai International Airport to restart Covid-19 preventive measures; BMC issues advisory

The state is almost out of Covishield and Corbevax vaccines, according to health officials, who said that only a few hundred doses of Covaxin left. No new orders were placed to replenish the stock, as there was no demand. In the state, only 9 per cent of the eligible population has taken the booster dose.

Booster for vulnerable

The health experts in Mumbai also advised the vulnerable citizens, including the elderly and people with high-risk diseases, to get their booster shot. At the same time, they said that there was no need to panic, as "we have already dealt with Omicron and its sub-variants".

Dr Hemlata Arora, senior consultant, Internal Medicine, said, "At present, there is no spike in the number of Covid-19 cases, but those above the age of 45 and with comorbidities can opt for a booster dose for added protection. We have successfully overcome the Omicron wave and there is no clinical precedent to suggest a more virulent wave of a pandemic will return to India."

Dr Trupti Gilada, infectious diseases specialist at Masina Hospital, said there is a need to first find out if the existing vaccines will work on the new Omicron variants. "There are two things to note. First, we need to see whether the existing immunity is from vaccination or previous infection. Second, most vaccines were made before the Omicron wave, and now, there are new variants. So, as of now, there is no need to push for vaccination. We have to see whether it will work on new variants.

"However, people who are at risk must get vaccinated," Dr Gilada added. Sanjay Khandare, principal secretary, health, said, "We have already asked the central government for vaccines. If there is a huge demand, we will take steps accordingly." On Friday, the state reported 23 new cases, including seven from Mumbai. There were no fatalities Currently, the state has 134 active cases, out of which 37 are from Mumbai. Mumbai has enough beds, oxygen to deal with a surge; ward war rooms are back online: BMC

Even though there has not been any spike in daily cases, the city administration has started preparations. Mumbai has 2,800 beds reserved for Covid-19 patients. The war rooms have been activated for attending to emergency calls. A senior civic official from the health department said, "Looking at the current situation, the BMC has ample beds as of now.

There are two hospitals, majorly treating Covid-19 patients - SevenHills and Kasturba, with 1,700 and 35 beds, respectively. Apart from that, government hospitals, like Cama has 100 beds, St. George has 70 beds, Tata has 16 beds, Jagjivan Ram hospital has 12 beds. There are also 26 private hospitals with a total of 871 beds dedicated to Covid-19 patients. We will increase the number of beds if the situation demands."

"Admissions to all these hospitals will be managed by ward war rooms, which are functional 24 x 7, at all the 24 BMC wards. Citizens can contact them in case of any difficulty. Also, enough oxygen is available in the form of Liquid Medical Oxygen, Dura Cylinders, and PSA tanks to manage a rise in Covid-19 cases." As per the guidelines, the airport authorities are restarting measures, like testing 2 per cent of international passengers arriving at the Mumbai airport. All positive samples will be sent to NIV, Pune, for genome sequencing.

571
No of people vaxxed at pvt centres on December 22

193
No of people who had come for vaccination against Covid on December 9

7
No. of new cases Mumbai reported on Friday