Under phase 3 of the vaccination drive, everyone above 18 years of age will be eligible to get vaccinated against Covid-19 from May 1. The registration for the same will begin at 4 pm today. Here are the highlights:
BKC jumbo centre runs out of Covid-19 vaccines in Mumbai
Mumbai’s Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) jumbo Covid-19 vaccination centre has run out of vaccine stock. The vaccination centre is inactive. Boards reading ‘Vaccine out of stock’ were put up outside the BKC centre on Wednesday. “It will open for vaccination as soon as the stock is replenished,” Bombay Municipal Corporation (BMC) said. However, despite it being out of stock, people gathered in huge numbers outside the centre. The vaccination drive at the vaccination centre was earlier halted for the same reason on April 20.
Maharashtra government writes to SII, Bharat Biotech
The Maharashtra government has written to Covid-19 vaccine manufacturers Serum Institute of India (SII) and Bharat Biotech about the state’s vaccination requirements. Health minister Rajesh Tope on Tuesday said that about 12 crore vaccines would be required to fully vaccinate the adult population. The state government is yet to announce if it will conduct the administration of vaccines free of cost to all residents above the age of 18 years.
India to get first batch of Sputnik on May 1
India will receive the first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine against Covid-19 on May 1, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), Kirill Dmitriev said. Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund, which is marketing Sputnik V globally, has already signed agreements with five leading Indian manufacturers for over 850 million doses of the vaccine a year. The RDIF has said it expects Sputnik production to reach 50 million doses a month by summer.
PIL seeks sale of vaccines by SII, Bharat Biotech at Rs 150
A public interest litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Bombay High Court challenging the different rates for Covid-19 vaccines for the Centre and state governments and requesting direction to the Serum Institute of India (SSI) and Bharat Biotech to sell their vaccines at a uniform rate of Rs 150 per dose. The PIL, filed on April 24 by advocate Fayzan Khan and three law students, said the vaccine is presumed to be an essential commodity and hence its management and distribution cannot be left in the hands of private companies.
Delaying vax will give virus opportunity to develop new variants
People should not delay taking the Covid-19 vaccine as this will give the virus an opportunity to develop new variants and some of them may reduce the efficacy of current vaccines, say healthcare experts. They believe that those not taking the vaccine are doing a great injustice to their near and dear ones. Dr Mervin Leo, Cluster COO, Gleneagles Global Hospitals believes that the Covid-19 virus still has many hosts left to replicate in, and it has more opportunity to randomly develop new variants.
(With inputs from agencies)