Mumbai’s civic body, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which has decided to administer the second dose of the vaccine for the coronavirus to the health workers on Monday, February 15, has provided for the Co-win application that supports it.
Moreover, sessions have been created for the 1,926 individuals who took the vaccine earlier on January 16, the first day of the nation-wide vaccine drive.
However, several medical practitioners, or people from the fraternity, reportedly told several media outlets that they would like to delay receiving the second dose of the vaccine in view of the World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation that the booster dose was most efficacious when taken between 8-12 weeks. On the other hand, civic authorities have stated that they have not received any communication from the Centre or state to extend the interval between the two doses which currently stands at four weeks.
According to a report in Times of India, Additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani stated that the teams from 20 private hospitals will be trained on Monday. “They will start vaccinating on their own premises in a day or two,” he said, adding that at least 15 private hospitals may start the drive on their premises soon which will increase the coverage.
Meanwhile, with a spike in COVID-19 cases in Mumbai, BMC has tweaked its containment zones criteria mandating sealing of buildings that have 10 or more cases in 2 or more floors. Moreover, the recent report shared by the BMC shows Chembur as the most affected place with the doubling rate at 245 days, while Dongri is the least affected ward with a doubling rate at 1,211 days. Overall, Mumbai's doubling rate is at 479 days - which is lower than the national average of 634 days.