GHMC will have to wait a few more days before securing the coveted tag of being 100 per cent vaccinated with at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The corporation has missed the September 10 deadline which it set itself for achieving the target by a small margin. According to officials, of the 4,846 colonies in the corporation, only 153 colonies are left to be to visited by the team of municipal and health staff to motivate unvaccinated individuals to get the jab. The corporation’s special drive began on August 23 and as part of it, nearly 5.45 lakh doses of vaccine have been administered in the past 18 days. Officials motivated individuals by going door-to-door.

It is learnt that anywhere between 55 lakh to 60 lakh individuals are eligible for the vaccine in GHMC limits. Hyderabad district limits had achieved 117 per cent first dose vaccination about two weeks ago, based on the population estimate given by the Centre (with the actual population being much higher). According to an official from GHMC, the drive will resume on Saturday after Ganesh Chathurthi and is likely to end by the next week.

Meanwhile, Telangana now has 51.80 lakh fully vaccinated individuals which, in terms of the proportion of population inoculated, is one of the best across South Indian States. Nearly 1.40 crore people in the State have got at least one jab.