Residents of Navi Mumbai equally preferred a paid vaccination as half of the total vaccinations have been taken at private hospitals. Around 96% citizens under the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation have taken the first dose and there is an equal contribution from private hospitals.
As part of the preparation for the possible third wave, the civic body increased the number of vaccination centres and depending upon the availability, it conducted a number of special drives to inoculate the maximum number of citizens.
At the same time, residents showed equal preference for a paid vaccination and visited private hospitals for the same. As per the data shared by the civic health department, around 15,92,000 doses of COVID vaccines have already been administered in the city. Of the total vaccination, the civic body provided around 7.58 doses free vaccines while private hospitals administered 8.34 lakh doses of COVID vaccines.
Many residents preferred a paid vaccination as they have to commute for office. Deepak Sainath, a resident of Nerul said that he has to go to work in Andheri and he needed to take the vaccination earliest. So, he decided for a paid vaccination. “Instead of the waiting to get a slot, I went for a paid vaccination as it is not very costly and also mandatory to travel in local trains,” said Sainath.
As per the data available with the civic health department, of the total 15.92 vaccinations, around 10.64 lakhs have taken the first dose while around 5.3 lakhs have taken both doses of COVID vaccines. The total eligible population to take the vaccine is around 11 lakhs.
