Vaccination made Bengaluru safer, says BBMP chief

Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner, Gaurav Gupta stated that Bengaluru's vaccination drive has been quite successful and an increase in the number of vaccinated individuals have ensured the safety of the city. To ramp up the vaccination drive, BBMP held a special vaccine mela on Friday.

"86 per cent of people have received the first dose and 52 per cent both doses in Bengaluru. We are making efforts to ensure that a maximum number of people take the second dose as well," said Gaurav Gupta.

"By following a few protocols carefully like wearing masks and large scale vaccinations, we have been able to keep Bengaluru city safe. To prevent the third wave, citizens are requested to take the second dose and make the city safer for your family as well," he added.

BBMP is also keeping a close watch on the rising cases in the city. "The Covid War room is keeping a daily tally on Covid and hospitalisation cases. As per the data, around 10 new daily cases requiring hospitalisation are being reported in the city," according to the BBMP chief. BBMP will also be conducting sero survey, genome sequencing and a new method to detect Covid transmission via sewage to tackle the rise of Covid-19 pro-actively.

Speaking about vaccinations for children he said that, "Two vaccines have received approval for emergency use from the central government. But we are yet to receive further details about how to administer the vaccine and how many doses need to be given. Once we get the details, BBMP will carry out the vaccine drive as per the state government's instructions.

He added that children's vaccination will be held at separate centres and children between the age group of 12-17 will be considered eligible on priority. Children below the age of 12 will be considered at a later stage.