At Mumbai hospital, health workers cheer as vaccines arrive

Dozens of health workers clappedand cheered the ''vaccine carrier'' staff as the coronavirusvaccines doses reached Mumbai's Cooper hospital on Saturdaymorning.

With 'arti' thalis and sweets, the staff of Cooperhospital waited outside the facility to welcome the firstbeneficiaries of the vaccination drive.

The hospital is one of the 285 centres in Maharashtrawhere the vaccination will be conducted in the first phase. Itis also among the centres where Prime Minister Narendra Modiwill be live through a webcast.

Ahead of the nationwide launch of the first phase ofvaccination, several health care workers, including doctorsand nurses, gathered outside the nine vaccination centres inMumbai.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray willlaunch the statewide vaccination drive from a Bandra-KurlaComplex based vaccination centre at 11.15 am, an officialsaid.

Around 4,000 health workers will be given the vaccinedoses at 40 booths in the nine vaccination centres in Mumbaion the first day of the drive.

Mumbai has received 1.39 lakh doses of the Covishieldvaccine from Pune-based Serum Institute of India.

Dr Rajesh Dere, head of the BKC centre said 500 healthworkers, including 150 from the BKC Covid centre, will bevaccinated at the BKC Complex centre.

BMC officials said they have issued tokens to healthworkers selected for the vaccination through a registrationprocess at the Cooper hospital.

At each centre in Maharashtra, the vaccine will beprovided to 100 health workers on the first day, and cover28,500 workers, an official said.

The state has received 9.63 lakh doses of Covishieldvaccine and 20,000 doses of Covaxin vaccine, which have beendistributed to all the districts.