Mumbai: There will be round-the-clock vaccination at private centres under the jurisdiction of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) henceforth, as the Centre has given its consent for the process. An announcement to this effect was made by the BMC commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal at a review meeting on Wednesday.
The BMC had requested the Central Government to make the necessary changes to its vaccination registration website CoWin, in order to facilitate 24x7 registration. The Centre, a few days ago, allowed 24-hour vaccination across the country.
This measure will enable the vaccination of at least one lakh people in Mumbai every day, going by the current numbers of 35,000-40,000 receiving their shots daily, with the current timing of 8-12 hours.
“We have decided to allow private hospitals assigned as Covid vaccination centres (CVC) in BMC limits to operate 24×7. The Centre has approved the BMC’s proposal in this regard. The BMC has requested the Centre to make necessary changes to its vaccination registration website to facilitate this,” said a civic official.
“The commencement of 24-hour vaccination centres will help increase the number of vaccinations in Mumbai in a systematic manner. The target is around one lakh vaccinations daily. Considering the fact that the number of senior citizens in Mumbai is nearly 30 lakh, if one lakh people are vaccinated daily, most senior citizens in Mumbai will be vaccinated within a month’s time. Senior citizens are more vulnerable to Covid-19 infection and need to be vaccinated as soon as possible,” the official added.
The BMC also plans to allow dialysis centres to carry out vaccinations to help support renal disease patients who would be unable to stand in queues. So far, two centres are under consideration for offering this service.
Civic officials said all designated vaccination centres must have a vaccination room, a waiting area, an observation area and experts to manage adverse events following immunisation. Several patients requiring dialysis support have demanded separate queues at centres. Disconcerted by the massive rush at the centres, physically and visually challenged people have stayed away.
