96% of patients on oxygen beds in Mumbai are unvaccinated: BMC commissioner
Synopsis
BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal said till Thursday, 96% of the oxygen bed occupants were unvaccinated and had not taken even a single dose of the vaccine.
Even as Mumbai recorded 20,971 cases on Friday, the Brihanmumbai Corporation (BMC) data showed that 96% of the 1,900-odd patients currently on oxygen beds in Mumbai have not taken even a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
BMC commissioner Iqbal Chahal said till Thursday, 96% of the oxygen bed occupants were unvaccinated and had not taken even a single dose of the vaccine. The remaining were partially or fully vaccinated. “Out of the around 1,900 Covid patients who were on oxygenated beds, around 96% are unvaccinated and only 4% are vaccinated,” Chahal said.
“Ninety-six per cent of the patients who are admitted on oxygen beds in 186 hospitals of Mumbai are unvaccinated. Otherwise, we have seen so far that vaccinated people are not reaching ICUs. We have 21 lakh vaccine stocks available with us. The current hurdle in ensuring the entire adult population is vaccinated is the 84-day gap required between the two doses. Today, too, our vaccination percentage is the best in India,” Chahal said in a TV interview. He said people should not think of the Omicron variant as a flu, adding if unvaccinated it definitely can take an infected person to the ICU.
Also read: India records 1,41,986 new COVID cases, positivity rate touches 9.28%
The age group and co-morbidity status of these patients occupying oxygen beds is not yet known. However, separately doctors said that the age group of such patients is above 40 to 50 years.
Meanwhile, the BMC has decided that unlike the first and second waves where positivity was the benchmark to impose a lockdown or restrictions, in the third wave further curbs would be imposed only if there is a burden of a high hospitalisation rate and a steep rise in oxygen usage.
In Mumbai, the BMC has vaccinated 108% of the population with at least one dose (the number exceeds 100% because it includes floating population; the target adult population is 9.2 million), while 89% have been given two doses. However, the civic body is in the process of compiling data on exactly how many have taken a single dose to compute the ratio of residents to floating population. Since January 03, the civic body started vaccinating 0.9 million teenagers in 15 to 18 years age category was started.
