Mumbai: A total of 987 students set to travel overseas for higher studies received their first dose of Covishield at three civic hospitals, on Monday.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) had announced free walk-in vaccination for students with confirmed admissions to foreign universities at Cooper, Rajawadi and Kasturba hospitals.
Meanwhile, many students accompanied by their parents, who had decided to avail of the drive on Monday had complained earlier in the morning that the hospitals had stopped inoculating students, citing inadequate stock. The parents claimed that at each of the centres, they were told that only 50 beneficiaries would be vaccinated.
Powai resident Neha Boradia took her son who will be going to the US for further studies, to Rajawadi Hospital on Monday morning. Boradia said they stood in the queue from 8am, only to be later told that the vaccination had been stopped due to inadequate stock.
“There were at least 400 students in the queue, from different parts of the city. The hospital authorities told us that they had run out of stock and only had 50 doses reserved for students,” Boradia told The Free Press Journal.
Similarly, Cuffe Parade resident Anita Desai too said they had to return emptyhanded from Kasturba Hospital, after spending more than two hours in the queue.
“Students had been waiting in line since 7am in the morning. My daughter and I reached there around 12.30pm and we waited till 3pm. After that, we decided to return as there were hundreds of students ahead of us and the drive is over around 4pm,” Desai told the FPJ.
Alongside Mumbaikars, students from satellite cities also thronged the hospitals for their doses on Monday.
“After waiting for more than two hours, we were told that only those living in Mumbai would get their doses,” said Krish Ahuja, a student.
Officials at the hospitals said initially, there was a crisis because they were told by the BMC to not administer more than 50 doses to the students. “On Monday morning, all the three hospitals were informed that they could administer only 50 doses to students. However, as the day progressed, more students began to come and later in the day, we received the order to administer more doses,” said a senior functionary at one of the hospitals.
On May 29, Additional Municipal Commissioner (Health) Suresh Kakani had said that initially 100 doses would be reserved for students at each of the hospitals, which would be later augmented, depending on the demand.
“Monday was the first day and on learning about the shortage of vaccines in the hospitals, we arranged to replenish their stocks immediately, so that maximum students could get their doses. After that, the drive picked up pace and we were able to inoculate more than 950 students in the day, despite the rains and the confusion. In the remaining two days, the process will continue smoothly,” Kakani told the FPJ on Monday.
Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar also visited the hospitals on Monday afternoon and assured that every student would be inoculated. "Priority is being given to the students. In the three-day drive, we will try to vaccinate the maximum number of students with confirmed admissions," Pednekar said, at Kasturba Hospital.
Fazed by the initial confusion, parents of students unable to get their shot began to appeal to public representatives to hold private vaccination drives.
BJP corporator Harshita Narwekar from Cuffe Parade, who had arranged such a drive for students last week, said that she had been getting calls from parents starting from Monday morning.
“Parents and students have been calling me and reaching out to me over Twitter, asking me to hold another private drive at the earliest, as many of them are afraid that they won’t be able to get their shot from BMC facilities. As the days pass by, a delay in vaccination even by a single day could lead to their losing their admission in foreign universities, ” said Narwekar.
Meanwhile, opposition party leaders blamed the BMC administration for the confusion.
BJP MLA from Andheri west Ameet Satam released a video on social media saying there were more than 500 students waiting in line at Cooper Hospital, which had only 50 doses left with them. “This is an attempt by the MVA government and BMC to fool the students. I appeal to the students to register themselves via Google forms for the mass vaccination camps happening in the city and we will try and accommodate as many students as we possibly can, at these camps,” said Satam in the video.
