Pune: 20% of eligible beneficiaries fully vaccinated, 0.15% catch infection despite both doses

Despite an overall rise in vaccination figures there will be a small percentage which will test positive for coronavirus infections, Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, told The Indian Express.

Pune district has vaccinated 20 per cent of its estimated 85 lakh eligible beneficiaries against Covid-19 till date, according to a new district health department report. As many as 6,244 persons got infected with coronavirus disease after the first dose of the vaccine while 2,617 people got Covid-19 after being fully vaccinated – a phenomenon known as breakthrough infection.

A Covid-19 breakthrough infection is a case where a fully vaccinated person becomes infected with the coronavirus. According to the report, a total of 17.06 lakh persons have been fully vaccinated in the district of which 0.15 % (2,617) were infected with coronavirus disease after receiving both the doses. Of the 48.16 lakh persons who were administered the first Covid-19 vaccine dose, 0.12 percent (6,244) contracted the coronavirus disease.

Despite an overall rise in vaccination figures there will be a small percentage which will test positive for coronavirus infections, Dr Pradeep Awate, state surveillance officer, told The Indian Express. “Vaccines offer strong protection but that protection takes time to build. Vaccines only give partial protection after the first dose and it takes time before protection reaches its maximum level a few weeks after the second dose,” Dr Awate said.

State health officials, however, have said that it is important to keep track of any new variant of SARS-CoV2 virus. Dr Abhay Tidke, Additional Pune district health officer, said that the state has issued guidelines to identify the vaccination status of each Covid positive case.

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Dr Subhash Salunkhe, state technical adviser on Covid-19, said that it was a welcome development that the cases of breakthrough infections were few but cautioned that there was an urgency to vaccinate more people. Across the world too, a rise in breakthrough infections was being noticed, he said. “The concern has been the contagious Delta variant and hence the need to vaccinate larger numbers before any further mutations,” he added.

Of the 2,617 persons who got coronavirus disease post both vaccine doses, 1,661 are from Pune city, 46 from Pimpri-Chinchwad and 910 from Pune rural. Till date, 6.95 lakh persons have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 in Pune city, over three lakh in Pimpri-Chinchwad and more than 7 lakh in Pune rural.

Fifty-nine percent of 1.98 lakh health care workers are now fully vaccinated in Pune district while 63 percent of the estimated 2.8 lakh frontline workers have got both doses of Covid-19 vaccine. In the city, 51,737 health care workers out of an estimated 87,422 are now fully vaccinated while in Pimpri-Chinchwad, 23,100 of them have got both doses. In Pune rural, 42,442 health care workers have been fully vaccinated.

Over 21K specially abled people, 414 transgender persons vaccinated

Pune district has administered Covid-19 vaccine shots to over 21, 925 specially abled persons of which 4,904 are from Pune city, 1,839 are from Pimpri-Chinchwad and 15,182 are from Pune rural.

According to the district health department report, Covid-19 vaccine has been administered to 290 transgender persons in Pune city and 124 in Pimpri-Chinchwad. Vaccine doses have been administered to 1,379 pregnant women of whom 291 are from Pune city.

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