Fifty two COVID-19 vaccine centres in the city were unoperational on Tuesday due to the shortage of vaccines. For the second consecutive day, less than 40,000 beneficiaries were vaccinated in the last 24 hours in Mumbai. According to the data, 39,522 beneficiaries were inoculated, of which 8,820 were administered Covaxin.
On Tuesday, as many as 38 private centres were unable to administer a single dose as they ran out of stock. Several public hospitals were hit too. At RN Cooper Hospital in Juhu, for instance, only those coming for their first dose were given the jab. Many dropping in towards the latter half of the day were asked to visit later.
Mumbaikars have also been facing difficulties in booking appointments for the second dose on Co-Win, although people are getting the vaccine when they walk into the centres directly. Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said they are expecting some vaccine doses to reach the city on Tuesday. Of the 20 lakh doses, 7.7 lakh doses have been given to senior citizens, followed by 6.7 lakh doses to people above 45 years, 3 lakh doses to frontliners, and 2.7 lakh doses to healthcare workers.
Dr Vispi Jokhi, CEO at Masina Hospital, on the Government of India announcement of a liberalized and accelerated Phase 3 strategy of the vaccination drive from May 1, said,
“This is a welcome move, especially if it is backed by scaling up the production and allowing vaccine manufacturers to charge a reasonable amount. A judicious mix between welfare and reasonable profit for vaccine manufacturers will change the scenario. As such one thing is clear that the vaccination is working, as hardly anyone who is vaccinated has had severe or life threatening infection. The sooner this happens, the better. The liberalised vaccination drive along with herd immunity are our only saviours,” he said.
