Nearly one lakh frontline workers yet to take their second Covid-19 vaccine dose

In a major worrying sign, even after state mandated two shots for essential workers to take trains, only a 1,000-odd frontline staffers have taken their second dose

Nearly 1 lakh essential workers seem to not have taken their second dose even after completing the 84-day waiting period, as per civic data. While the gap appears puzzling, officials said it’s possible that these workers took their second dose under another category. With local train access given to only fully vaccinated individuals since October 26, about 1,000 essential workers have taken their second jab since then.

As per numbers available with the BMC, of 4.25 lakh citizens who received the first dose under the “Front/Health line workers” category and completed 84 days, only 3.28 lakh have taken a second dose. This means 96,771 essential workers are still to get the second shot. Officials said the civic body doesn’t have a count of total essential workers in the city since they also belong to state-run and private organisations. The BMC has about 1 lakh such workers.

Vaccination in progress at the OPD of Nair hospital on Tuesday. Pic/Suresh Karkera

A week ago, the Maharashtra government announced that all citizens, including essential workers and government employees, would have to be fully vaccinated to travel on Mumbai’s local trains. Between October 27 and November 1, only 1,196 front line workers came forward to get a second jab. Going by the BMC data, about 23 per cent of essential workers appear to have got only one dose.

India’s vaccination drive started with frontline workers in January. Till April end, 3.97 lakh essential workers had received their first dose, while the second shot had been administered to 2.14 lakh such workers. With most essential workers getting at least one dose, the response slowed down. Till August 10, the number of essential workers who had got the first dose reached 4,25,190. Till November 1, only 3.28 lakh essential workers are fully vaccinated.

“The gap is large but there is a possibility that these employees received a second dose under some other category. We urge every citizen to take their second dose within the time period,” said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner.

Vax puzzle

>>No. of frontline workers who got first dose till Aug 10 - 4,25,419
>>Frontline workers who didn’t turn up for 2nd jab after 84 days - 96,771
>>Frontline workers got second dose between Oct 27 and Nov 1 - 1,196

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