CHENNAI: About 1.25 lakh people received their Covid-19 shots on Thursday, a far cry from the daily average of just 30,000. The jump in numbers was a result of Greater Chennai Corporation’s mass vaccination campaign, for which 400 vaccination centres were created.
Previously, the civic body administered a single-day high of 49,010 shots on April 16 and 40,656 shots on April 15.
The drive focused on residents with comorbidities and those in the special category such as people with high blood pressure, diabetes or pregnant and lactating women and the disabled, the civic body said.
As of Wednesday, the corporation had administered a total of 37.16 lakh jabs — 25.94 lakh first doses and11.22 lakh second doses. On Thursday, each of the 200 corporation wards had two vaccination centres and were to cover a target of 1 lakh people. “We have exceeded the target,” a senior official said.
Official data revealed that on Thursday, the maximum number of jabs were administered in Tondiarpet zone (13,650), followed by Kodambakkam (12,010), Thiru Vi Ka Nagar (11,546) and Teynampet (10,974).
Fewer shots were administered in Manali (3,350), Tiruvottiyur (5,487), Shollinganallur (5,500) and Perungudi (5,510) zones. Shollinganallur and Perungudi in south Chennai consist of areas added to the Chennai corporation limits in 2011 and are sparsely populated compared to core city areas.
In the city, most vaccines were given in Urban Community Health Centres (UCHC), data showed. Mirsahibpet, Vadapalani, Adyar, Padi, Porur and R K Nagar UCHCs recorded more than 7,000 vaccinations each on Thursday.
