MUMBAI GETS SPUTNIK BIDS FOR PLAN TO VACCINATE EVERY RESIDENT

MUMBAI: The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has received bids to import 10 million Sputnik V vaccines and expects more proposals as authorities attempt an ambitious plan to vaccinate every resident in Mumbai within two months.

India’s financial capital estimates to spend about ₹700 crore to buy the shots, BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal told Bloomberg TV in an interview on Wednesday.

Faster vaccinations could help avert a third wave of the coronavirus, which could cost the city above ₹800 crore just to run its temporary hospitals created to tackle a surge in patients.

“Once we get 15 million vaccine shots, I plan to vaccinate the entire city in next 60 days and by doing so I am very sure we will be able to stop the third wave from coming,” Chahal said.

The three bids received include a proposal from Londonbased Taliesin International Ltd. and two other companies from Hyderabad, which claim authorised distributorship from Sputnik marketer The Russian Direct Investment Fund, Chahal said.