There was a nine per cent drop in the number of beneficiaries at the vaccine centres on Thursday. According to the vaccine data of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), 9,237 of the targeted 11,200 healthcare and frontline workers were inoculated in the last 24 hours, which means only 82 per cent compared to 91 per cent which was done just a day before.
For the second consecutive days, more than 3,000 first time beneficiaries were given a second dose of vaccines. Suresh Kakani, Additional Municipal Commissioner said the numbers will increase for the second dose in future and a greater number of healthcare workers will come forward. “There are days when the numbers come down, moreover today was the public holiday due to which numbers might have decreased,” he said.
Officials said the drop in the number of healthcare workers is due to misconceptions, hesitancy related to vaccines. “There is still doubt among health workers related to side effects and efficacy of the vaccine. After taking the first dose, some have hesitated to take the second dose. So some are thinking that it can be taken any time after 28 days,” he said.
