PUNE: The month of July saw the highest number of Covid vaccinations in Pune district, with over 17.83 lakh shots recorded, health department data has shown.
A large number of second-dose beneficiaries — within the massive 18-44 group — certainly helped boost count but they had become eligible for the next shot only by the last week of July. Officials said vaccine availability was also a key factor.
From 5.43 lakh doses administered in May in the district, the count more than tripled in July. In June, the district had administered nearly 15.29 lakh shots.
The Covid vaccine drive for those over 60 and 45 (with underlying conditions) began on March 1. The drive to cover everyone over 45 began on April 1.
All above 18 became eligible from May 1, but severe supply shortages had impacted coverage at the time, despite a major chunk of the population opening up for vaccination. Sanjay Deshmukh, assistant director (medical), Pune circle said, “Compared to May, civic sites got double the number of Covishield doses in July and over three lakh more doses compared to June. Apart from availability at civic sites, doses bought directly by private hospitals pushed up vaccinations in July.”
Deshmukh said nearly 700 civic sites in the district were operational in July, compared to the nearly 400 in June. “On almost all days of July, the district had more than 600 vaccination sites. Contribution from private hospitals to the drive in July was around 25%, which was much less in June because there were fewer private sites at the time,” he said.
Another district official said, “Daily jab count crossed one lakh at least twice in July and went past 90,000 on a couple of days. We also received some big vaccine batches in July. The most recent, 2.12 lakh doses, was the highest ever received on a single day. So on good days, average daily vaccination in July was 80,000, compared to 50,000 per day in June.”
