BMC looks for 12 lakh immunization portions from state government in June

Mumbai: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has requested the state government to provide 12 lakh vaccine doses in June in a bid to increase the Covid-19 immunization drive.  Officials said they were trying to vaccinate about 50,000 beneficiaries every day this month.  BMC received 94,000 doses of Covishield and Covaxin on Thursday.  Vaccination will resume on Friday, officials said. 

 

The vaccination drive at civic and government centers was halted on Thursday due to a lack of vaccines. We requested the government to provide us with at least 12 lakh doses of stock for this month to keep the drive running smoothly.  "If we get more than one lakh doses a day, we can increase the drive and start vaccinating people of all ages," said BMC Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani. There are 340 Covid vaccination centers across Mumbai. 

 

However, due to a shortage of vaccines at BMC and government centers, only 5,510 people were vaccinated on June 2. 

As of June 2, 44,323 people had been vaccinated at private hospitals.  Our drive depends on the stock we receive from the government and there is no certainty about that.  Private hospitals can buy their shares, Kakani added. Vaccination will be allowed only through BMC online meetings, which will continue for the next two days. The drive will be suspended on Sunday. 

 

In January, 2.65 lakh people were vaccinated in Mumbai, 5.71 lakh in February, 8.1 lakh in March, 9.47 lakh in April, and 5.23 lakh in May.  The BMC Vaccination Drive was launched on May 1 for 18-44 years.  So far, 33.74 lakh people have been vaccinated in Mumbai. Of these, 26.19 lakh received the first dose and 7.54 lakh received the second dose.  Over the past few days, private hospitals have been vaccinating more people than BMC and state centers.

 

Currently, BMC vaccines are given to senior citizens, people over the age of 45, people with special abilities, students studying at foreign universities, and breastfeeding mothers.  Drive for 18-44-year-olds has been suspended since May 23.  However, the Civil Body said it would now allow beneficiaries to receive a second dose of Covaxin.  We have planned the drive step by step.  Kakani said people who need to be given a second dose will be allowed to take the job.