Vaccination drive suspended in Mumbai for 2 days due to vaccine shortage: BMC

Mumbai: Vaccination drive against the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease will remain suspended on August 19 and 20 at all government and civic-body run centres in Mumbai due to shortage of doses, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) said on Wednesday. The civic body said the inoculation process will resume on Saturday as a fresh stock of vaccines is expected to arrive on Thursday night and will be distributed to all publicly run centres the next day.

The civic body of the country’s financial capital has had to keep the vaccination drive on hold in August earlier as well due to similar reasons. The BMC had announced on August 11 no doses of the anti-coronavirus vaccine would be administered for the next two days and before that on August 4.

In July end, the BMC also began a door-to-door vaccination drive for beneficiaries who are bedridden due to medical or physical illnesses and so far, it has run mostly on a smooth note.

Earlier in the day, the Union Health Ministry said more than 57.88 crore vaccines have been provided to states and union territories so far, and another 18,62,530 doses were in the pipeline.

Of this, the total consumption, including wastage, is 55,11,64,635 doses (as per data available at 8 am). More than 94 lakh balance and unutilised doses were still available with the states, UTs and private hospitals to be administered, the ministry said.

Mumbai registered 283 fresh cases in the last 24 hours, while 297 patients recovered from the viral disease during the same period. This took the active caseload of Mumbai to 2,686.

The Maharashtra government has relaxed restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals in the state, including travel by local trains in Mumbai from August 15. Meanwhile, Maharashtra crossed the 5-crore mark in vaccinations on Wednesday with 5,07,52,443 doses administered so far.

In a statement, the government has announced the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic in the state was under control.