Mumbai tops in vaccinating 18-44 group, Kolhapur in 45+

Kolhapur district tops the list in vaccinating people above 45 years of age with first dose, but ranks lowest in Maharashtra when it comes to coverage in the 18-44 age group (1.66 per cent). In the 18-44 age group, Mumbai tops in Maharashtra with 33.8 per cent people vaccinated with their first dose.

Kolhapur, with an estimated 12.73 lakh people in 45-plus bracket, has administered first dose to 8.8 lakh people in this group. But of the 18.85 lakh in 18-44 group, it has immunised only 31,332 people, making up for 1.66 per cent in this group.

District officials said their focus remains on full immunisation of senior citizens before they move to younger population. A shortage of vaccine stock is also a factor in low coverage. Very few private hospitals in Kolhapur managed to procure doses in a few thousands.

In June, the Maharashtra government had received 59 lakh doses, of which 49.8 lakh were Covishield and over nine lakh Covaxin. In May, the state received 40 lakh doses, of which 33.06 lakh were Covishield and 6.99 lakh Covaxin. The supply is expected to touch a crore doses in July. In Mumbai, where Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation received only limited supplies, of the 39.02 lakh people in the 45-plus age group, 57.2 per cent (22 lakh) have been vaccinated with first dose.

In the 18-44 age group, of the 57.7 lakh population, 19.5 lakh (33.8 per cent) have been immunised at least once till July 3. About 50 per cent of the vaccination in Mumbai has been done by the private sector, which was able to procure more supplies. Mumbai had last received 90,000 doses on Monday, which is expected to be exhausted by Wednesday.

In the 18-44 age group, districts lag far behind Mumbai in inoculation. Pune has a coverage of 28.1 per cent, followed by Thane (14.6 per cent), Bhandara (14.2 per cent) and Gondia (13.8 per cent). At least 25 districts have less than 10 per cent coverage. The lowest coverage has been reported in Kolhapur, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Buldhana and Amravati. In the 45-plus age group, lowest coverage has been recorded in Hingoli, Nanded, Palghar, Solapur and Aurangabad.

Private sector has played a crucial role in vaccination across state in the 18-44 age group. Throughout May and for a few days in June, government centres did not immunise people in this pool. Rural and tribal districts have recorded a poor coverage, while urban areas like Mumbai, Pune, Thane have highest reported coverage in the state since the private sector had procured lakhs of doses.

Data till July 3 shows Kolhapur, Sindhudurg, Satara, Sangli, Gondia have covered over 60 per cent population in the 45-plus group with the first dose.