More than 2,000 people who fell prey to the fake vaccination drive in Mumbai will undergo antibody tests in July, said state health minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday. Tope added that all beneficiaries will receive two doses of Covishield after the state writes to the Centre.
“According to preliminary report, 2,040 beneficiaries have been administered saline water during the fake vaccination drive. Following which, the state government will conduct an antibody test on the victims in the first week of July. After the test, the state will inform the central government and ICMR about the same and ensure that all get vaccinated,” said Tope.
The vaccine racket came to light after residents of a housing society in Kandivli claimed that they were the victims of the “vaccination scam”.
Tope added that the BMC and city police are investigating the matter and so far they have arrested 11 people in the racket.
“Interestingly all the beneficiaries have received the Covid vaccine certificate of the first dose. Moreover, the accused procured vaccine bottles from another state and filled them with saline water,” he said.
“The preliminary investigations suggest that the accused procured the empty Covishield vaccine bottles of the ’97 batch that was sent to Gujarat. These bottles were filled with saline water,” Tope said.
