Mumbai: Public health officials of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Saturday stated that the civic body is ready to inoculate the frontline workers of the city within 24 hours after the stock arrives.
To review the preparations, a team of BMC health officials led by additional municipal commissioner, Suresh Kakani visited the eight civic-run hospitals and the Kanjurmarg facility on Saturday, where the inoculation drives will take place. Cooper, Bandra-Bhabha, Rajawadi, VN Desai and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar General Hospital have been equipped with storage facilities for the vaccines.
"We are ready to start inoculation within 24 hours after we receive the stock of vaccines, our storage facilities are also almost complete and the pending works are expected to be completed by next week," Dr. Mangala Gomare, BMC executive health officer told FPJ. Gomare was one of the team members that carried out inspection visits on Saturday.
Gomare informed that at present the civic body is equipped with 21 Ice Lined Refrigerator (ILR), each of these refrigerators has a capacity to store more than 60,000 vaccine vials at a time. Alongside this, the civic body has also placed orders for the 40 cubic meter and 49 cubic meter walk in refrigerators, which could store 60 lakh vials approximately.
The civic body is already in the process of transforming 5,000 square feet area of one of its building in Kanjurmarg, into a Regional Vaccine Storage Centre (RSVC). As the facility is still under construction, the civic body has placed additional refrigerators at the F south ward office.
"After our inspection today, we are confident that we are fully ready for any situation, now we are just waiting for the stocks to arrive in the city," Gomare stated.
As the first stage of the vaccination drive, the civic body will inoculate nearly 1.25 lakh frontline health workers, who have registered themselves for the drive.
