Mumbai: First consignment of COVID-19 vaccine arrives in city

The vaccine will be delivered across Mumbai at designated vaccination centers for the national inoculation drive set to begin on January 16. Pic courtesy/ Prajakta Kasale

The first consignment of Covishield Vaccine arrived in Mumbai from Pune around 5.30 am on Wednesday, said Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials. The BMC received total 1,39,500 doses of the vaccine from Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune. The vaccine is being stored in the storage facility at the municipal office buildings in Parel.

Also Read: COVID-19 vaccination: Worst-hit Mumbai gets the lion's share

It will be delivered across Mumbai at designated vaccination centers for the national inoculation drive set to begin on January 16.

The vaccine was supposed to be stored at the Kanjurmarg cold storage facility measuring 5,000 sq ft with a capacity to store 1.2 crore vials. "If the number of vaccines exceeds 10 lakh, then the Kanjurmarg facility can be used. Otherwise, smaller batches will be directly sent to the four medical colleges, too. For the first batch, a facility at the Health Department, Parel will be used," said Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner.

"During vaccination in 1st phase, the frontline workers must carry either Aadhar card, Voter ID card, Pan card or passbook with their photo printed on it as an identity proof. One must first get registered on CoWIN app and then carry these IDs," added Kakani.

The BMC can vaccinate 10,000-12,000 people daily at its eight centres, including four medical colleges. There are 1.6 lakh health workers registered for vaccination in the first phase. The number of vaccination centres will be increased eventually for large-scale vaccination.

(With inputs from IANS)