Mumbai: As part of the 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav' celebrations, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has announced free precaution doses of COVID-19 vaccines for all citizens above 18 years of age at government and civic vaccination centres from July 15 to September 30 (75 days). Beneficiaries who have completed six months or 26 weeks after taking the second dose of vaccine are only eligible. However, so far 9.92 lakh beneficiaries in Mumbai have taken precautionary doses, which means 12 per cent of the population above 18 years of age.
There are around 104 BMC and government vaccination centres in Mumbai where vaccines will be available for free of cost. As of now, free booster doses were available only for 60 plus, health workers and front-line workers.
“We are all set to begin the vaccination. It will be a walk-in and if we see that demand for vaccines then we will increase the number of centres,” said Dr Mangala Gomare, Executive Health Officer.
Dr Sulaiman Ladhani, Consulting Chest Physician, Masina Hospital, Mumbai, said, "The decision will further strengthen India's fight against Covid-19 and add an extra layer of safety! I urge all those eligible to get their precaution dose at the earliest. Moreover, the idea behind reducing the booster dose period is to protect the vulnerable groups because it was found that the antibodies start to decrease after 3 to 4 months and the vulnerable groups become more prone to infections."
“The newer variants are far more infective and cause immune escape and the vaccines may not be 100% effective against them, but giving them earlier may offer them a chance to the prevention of severe diseases and hospitalization, especially the vulnerable groups and frontline workers, senior citizens, people who have co-morbidities and other underlying illnesses. So it's always better to protect the vulnerable groups,” he said.
