DUE TO inadequate vaccine stock, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has halted the vaccination drive across all state and civic-run centres for a day on Thursday. There are a total of 344 state and civic-run vaccination centres. The BMC in May received total 5,23,440 doses of vaccines, including that of Covaxin and Covishield. Nearly half of what it had received in April - 9,47,500 doses. In March, the BMC had received 8,10,950 doses of both the vaccines. Due to the unavailability of stock, many centres in the city were closed on Tuesday and Wednesday as well. Only 15,000 doses were available as of Monday night. The shortage of vaccines has started impacting the statewide immunisation drive since May 31. The numbers of vaccination centres have been decreasing drastically. On Wednesday, total 49,833 doses were administered, of which, only 5,512 beneficiaries got the jab at the BMC and state centres. Of the total 344 vaccination centres, only 51 were functioning on Wednesday. Similarly, on June 1, at the BMC and state centres, 10,453 people were vaccinated across more than 140 centres. On May 31, the BMC and the state centres inoculated 22,277 beneficiaries. The city recorded the highest number of inoculations carried out in a single day on Monday since the drive started on January 16. A total of 86,887 doses were administered, of which, 64,610 were given at private sector establishments (paid facility) and 20,448 at public institutions (free facility). The BMC is expected to receive the vaccine stock on Thursday, following which the new schedule for inoculation will be announced. A tweet from the BMC official handle read, “Dear Mumbaikars, please note that all BMC and Government vaccination centres will be closed tomorrow (June 3, 2021). We apologize for the inconvenience. Please watch this space for updates regarding vaccination centres and schedules.” Currently, the BMC is administering vaccine three days a week, Monday to Wednesday, on a walk-in basis without prior registration. Vaccination for the remaining three days is strictly done through appointments. The facility remains closed on Sundays. To date, 26.19 lakh citizens have received the first dose and 7.54 lakh completed the vaccine course. Of the total, 91,124 have received both the doses of Covaxin, while 6,64,301 have received both the doses of Covishield. Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner of the BMC, said they are expecting the new stocks of vaccines by Thursday evening. “We are likely to receive about 90,000 doses by Thursday evening. Last week, we got about 25,000 doses. We will continue our current system of three days walk-in and the other three days through online appointments,” said Kakani. He added, “The BMC will soon start vaccinating beneficiaries of 18-44 year age group who are due for their second dose of Covaxin.”
