More than 82 lakh booster doses administered in state so far

KOLKATA: The number of booster doses administered in the state so far climbed to 82, 93, 423 on Thursday from 79, 79, 979 on Wednesday. At least 7, 28, 47, 885 people received the first dose so far while 6, 42, 71, 562 people received the second dose of Covid vaccine.

The total number of vaccine doses administered for the day has fallen from 3, 79, 681 on Wednesday to 3, 43, 497 on Thursday.

The number of Covid cases for Thursday has risen to 1, 495 from 1, 273 on Wednesday. However, the positivity rate has increased to 98.06 per cent against 98.02 per cent

on Wednesday.

Ever since the free booster dose rolled out to adults aged between 18 and 59 years by the state, the number of jabs administered has risen steadily. Mayor Firhad Hakim had recently urged the clubs and housing complexes in the city to provide space for the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) to organise camps for fast-tracking the administering of booster dose.

A news publication reported that approximately 33 lakh adults have received booster doses in the state since July 15. This sudden boost in numbers is owing to the free booster drive being rolled out from government CVCs. On the first day of free doses, around 2.75 lakh jabs were administered.

Earlier free booster doses were only being given to senior citizens, healthcare and frontline workers.