Mumbaikars irked over suspension of vaccination drive

Mumbaikars expressed unhappiness over the suspension of the COVID-19 vaccination drive at civic and government-run centres here on Thursday due to shortage of vaccines doses, and raised questions over the management of the inoculation programme.

Some residents also wondered if this was a bid to "divert people to private hospitals" for paid jabs rather than getting free vaccine doses at government centres.

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation on Wednesday informed about the suspension of the inoculation drive for a day.

The repeated suspension of the vaccination drive due to shortage of vaccine doses has irked local residents.

Last month also, the inoculation drive was suspended once due to unavailability of sufficient number of vaccine doses.

"Private hospitals have got thrice their normal quota for tmrw whereas the free vaccination centres are shut. Scam to divert people to private hospitals," citizen Azmina Kotadiya tweeted.

Some people, who had booked their appointments for jabs on Thursday, were confused whether they would receive their doses or not.

"Our appointment is already scheduled on Cowin at a govt center tomorrow morning for Covaxin 2nd dose. So does it stand cancelled now?" Payal Mukherjee asked in her tweet.

The BMC in a tweet on Wednesday said, "Dear Mumbaikars, Please note that all BMC and Government vaccination centers will remain closed tomorrow (July 1, 2021). We apologize for the inconvenience. Please watch this space for updates regarding vaccination centres and schedules."

The civic body in a statement said the vaccination drive will resume once it receives the fresh stock of vaccines.

It said citizens of Mumbai are continuously informed about the vaccination, depending upon the stock of vaccines received, and an appropriate decision is taken.

So far, 54,35,731 citizens have been inoculated in the metropolis. Out of them, 10,72,578 beneficiaries have received the second dose as well, as per the BMC.

On Wednesday, 63,579 people received the jabs, including 20,259 who got the second dose.

Currently, there are 399 COVID-19 vaccination centres in Mumbai - 281 operated by the BMC, 20 government-run and 98 private facilities.