Mumbai receives over 1.39 lakh Covishield vaccine doses: BMC

Mumbai received over 1.39 lakhdoses ofthe Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, Covishield, from thePune-based Serum Institute of India (SII) early Wednesdaymorning, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation said.

This first batch of doses will be delivered across thecity at designated vaccination centers for the inoculationdrive set to begin on January 16, the BMC said in a statement.

The civic body said it received 1,39,500 doses of theCovishield vaccine from the SII around 5.30 am.

Health department staffers of the BMC brought thevaccines from neighbouring Pune under the security of twopolice vehicles, it said.

''The vaccine doses are being stored at a facility inF-South ward office situated in Parel,'' it stated.

The civic body has also created a centralised coldstorage facility for vaccines in Kanjurmarg.

Nearly 1.30 lakh health workers from Mumbai have sofar registered for vaccination, according to BMC officials.

Mumbai will have 72 inoculation centres, state HealthMinister Rajesh Tope said in a release on Tuesday.

A minimum of 100 people will be vaccinated againstCOVID-19 at a single centre which will have a team of fivepersonnel who will verify the SMS sent to the person to beinoculated, her or his identity and administer the vaccine.

''The necessary arrangement of electricity, Internetand webcasting service has been made at all these centres,''Tope said in the release.

A massive pan-India inoculation drive against COVID-19has been set in process with more than 56 lakh doses of theCovishield vaccine leaving Pune for 13 cities across India onTuesday.

With the addition of 473 fresh cases on Tuesday,Mumbai's cumulative COVID-19 count has reached 2,99,796, whilethe death toll has gone up to 11,202, as per official figures.

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(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)