No official word on 15 lakh, Chandigarh administration targets 7 lakh first shots

CHANDIGARH: While the UT administration is confident of reaching 100% first-dose vaccination by mid-August, the Centre’s population projection of 15 lakh will not be the target. UT health secretary Arun Gupta said: “Our targeted size is 7 lakh, as we go by the 2011 census and no communication came to us for covering 15 lakh.”
The UT health department has added 17% to the 2011 calculations for the last decade’s rise but it still doesn’t come close to the central government’s record that says the city has 15 lakh people. The department has shot several letters to the Union health ministry for correction but received no response.

UT director of health services Dr Amandeep Kang said: “We are going by the 12-lakh estimate only to achieve 100% vaccination. Despite those several letters, the central ministry hasn’t told us how it recorded 15 lakh people here.” In the central estimates, the city has 9.5 lakh people aged above 18, while the UT claims 6.5 lakh by the current voter list.
Dr Kang said: “We have vaccinated a lot of the Tricity’s floating population as well, so the daily data on the Co-WIN app doesn’t match with our daily dose record. The app gives real-time data and we update by 7pm. But the difference is not huge.” Earlier, when the UT health department claimed to have covered more than 90% healthcare workers, the GOI figure was 70%. In the 2011 census, Chandigarh was found to have 10.55 lakh population, including those below 18.
UT adviser Dharam Pal said: “We can’t stop anybody from coming to the city for vaccination. We send our vans and ambulances to the poor colonies, villages, and congested areas, to vaccinate every eligible adult in the city. As the Tricity’s floating population also comes to us for vaccination, we’ll end up administering 10 to 15% more doses than our target.”
Covid count: City 4, Mohali 2, Pkl 2
Chandigarh reported four cases of Covid-19 on Monday and eight recoveries. The total recovery count has reached 61,038, while the overall confirmed cases are now 61,893, including 809 deaths. The city's active cases are 46.
Mohali reported just two Covid-positive cases on Monday, besides eight recoveries and no death. The active cases dropped to 44 and the recovery rate improved slightly to 98.38%. One of the new cases is from Mohali urban and the other from Dhakoli. No case came from Kharar, Dhakoli, Gharuan, Lalru, Banur, Nayagaon, Mullanpur, Derabassi, Kurali, Boothgarh, and Zirakpur. In the past two weeks, the district has lost only two patients and the positive cases are lowering. The civil surgeon said: “This does not mean that people get careless and start roaming out without any reason. Keep wearing mask and maintaining social distancing.” The overall positive cases are now 68,404, including 67,304 recoveries. The death toll is 1,056.
Panchkula district on Monday reported two fresh cases of Covid-19 and no death. Chief medical officer (CMO) Dr Mukta Kumar said while sharing the day's information with the media that out of the total 30,632 patients reported till date, 30,237 had been cured and discharged from the civil hospital in Sector 6, while the count of active cases in the district had reached 20 and the death toll, so far, was 375. The CMO said the district's laboratories had received 3,78,837 swab samples, so far, for Covid testing.