Vax for those aged over 50 by Mar-apr
Civic body looks to rope in pvt hospitals; officials say need to boost capacity before starting round for general public
MUMBAI: If all goes as per plan, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) aims to start phase 3 of vaccination for general public above 50 years of age and those with comorbidities by March or April, and phase 2 for frontline workers by mid-february. While the civic officials said general public may have to pay for the vaccine, there is no decision on the cost.
The BMC is also exploring enrolment of private hospitals for vaccination. Currently, the BMC is carrying out the first phase of vaccination for healthcare workers (HCW), which began on January 16.
Speaking at the Social Sanchar event organised by V-citizens Action Network (VCAN), Suresh Kakani, additional commissioner of BMC, said, “We aim to complete the first phase by February 14. Post this, we aim to kick off the second phase, which will cover police, solid waste management workers and Mumbai Fire Brigade. But it will depend on when we receive the vaccine deliveries, considering it is regulated by the Central government.”
Kakani added, “By March or April, we aim to kick off the third phase in which the general public will be vaccinated. This will include those above the age of 50 and those who have comorbidities. This too will depend on the deliveries. We can augment our daily vaccination capacity to 50,000. For the third phase, our capacity needs to increase further…we are in touch with the chiefs of several private hospitals, and in the coming days, we plan to complete the shortlisting process.”
The BMC officials also plan a
Covid awareness programme to rule out rumours and misinformation about the vaccines. On Friday, the BMC clarified that vaccination is voluntary. It also added that administering Covid-19 vaccines, Covishield and Covaxin, is not advisable for individuals below the age of 18 years.
Meanwhile, the civic body on Friday completed its ninth day of immunization at 12 centres, with the addition of NESCO Covid jumbo facility in Goregaon. Friday’s vaccination drive saw a turnout of 72%, as 5,510 healthcare workers were vaccinated out of 7,697 expected to turn up for the day.
Among these, four people experienced minor giddiness, called adverse event following immunisation (AEFI), and were kept under observation for 30 minutes before being discharged. So far, the BMC has completed vaccination of 33,505 healthcare workers in the city. The BMC has shortlisted about 125,000 healthcare workers for the first phase, who will receive two doses of the vaccine. “We have to wait 28 days before we can administer the second dose. We will be able to administer the second dose to those who came in for immunization on January 16, from February 13 or 14.”
The BMC will also open vaccination centres at jumbo facilities in Dahisar, Mulund, and Richarson and Cruddas (RC) in Byculla, in the coming days.
The number of teams carrying out the immunisation drive also increased to 80 on Friday, from 77 on Thursday and Wednesday, from 65 on Monday, 45 on January 23, 39 on January 22, 33 on January 20, and 32 on January 21.