Even after the Centre announced free vaccines to all eligible citizens, 50 per cent of the beneficiaries in Mumbai paid for their anti-COVID shots in the past four months. The shift to private facilities was prompted by never-ending queues outside civic- and state-run centres and frequent suspension of the vaccination drive due to shortage.

So far, 6 crore vaccines have been administered across the state, and 98 lakh have been given in Mumbai. Between May 1 and September 4, a total of 73.74 lakh vaccines were given in the city, and 36.48 lakh were paid (i.e. around 50 per cent).