The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) last week had floated a global expression of interest (EOI) to procure 1 crore vaccine doses. However, it has not garnered any response till now. The BMC on Tuesday, May 18 decided to extend the deadline for its global tender for vaccine supply to Mumbai by a week, to May 25.
BMC on May 12 had floated a global bid to acquire the said vaccine for Mumbaikars. The last day for accepting queries from interested bidders was Sunday, May 16, and the deadline was till 3 pm on May 18. However, as of Monday afternoon, the civic body had not received a single bid.
As India is currently facing an acute shortage of vaccines, this bid will help speed up the drive in the city.
According to BMC’s tender document, China has been restricted from bidding. Further, the vaccines that do not have Centre’s approval will have to get the same on their own.
Currently, SII's Covishield, Bharat Biotech's Covaxin and Sputnik V from Russia are available in India. The vaccine makers that bid for BMC's tender are expected to be as per the guidelines laid by Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), and should have DCGI approval for the supply of COVID-19 vaccines in Indian territory.