The first consignment of 1,39,500 doses of COVID-19 vaccine 'Covishield' manufactured by Serum Institute of India (SII) arrived in Mumbai on early Wednesday morning, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said. The vaccine was brought to Mumbai from Pune in a special vehicle of BMC.
This first batch of doses will be delivered across the city at designated vaccination centers for the inoculation drive set to begin on January 16, the BMC said in a statement.
"The vaccine doses are being stored at a facility in F-South ward office situated in Parel," it stated. The civic body has also created a centralised cold storage facility for vaccines in Kanjurmarg.
Covishield is developed by Oxford University and British-Swedish company AstraZeneca and manufactured by the SII.
Mumbai will have 72 inoculation centres, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said in a release on Tuesday.
A minimum of 100 people will be vaccinated against COVID-19 at a single centre which will have a team of five personnel who will verify the SMS sent to the person to be inoculated, her or his identity and administer the vaccine.
"The necessary arrangement of electricity, Internet and webcasting service has been made at all these centres," Tope said in the release.
A massive pan-India inoculation drive against COVID-19 has been set in process with more than 56 lakh doses of the Covishield vaccine leaving Pune for 13 cities across India on Tuesday.
(Inputs from PTI)
