A new report indicates that the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is seeking a reduction of the waiting time between two doses of the Covishield vaccine. This comes as a large portion of the population is yet to receive their second dose. Estimates say that less than 25 per cent have received their second dose of the vaccine.
This disparity has caused the civic body to seek the Centre’s help in reducing the interval between two doses. However, the discussions haven’t borne fruit as of yet. Given that the fear of a third COVID-19 wave is looming, the Central Government’s suggested gap of 84 days is understandably causing concern.
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Officials note that people taking their first dose are currently queuing up at vaccination sites. This is causing trouble for those waiting for their second jab. To curb this, the BMC has decided to allow walk-ins from second dose recipients for at least one of the six days at public centres.
“We are making efforts to encourage more second-dose beneficiaries to come forward. We are planning to save a day for them exclusively. This will help us increase numbers of fully vaccinated people,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said.
Mid-day reports that despite the civic body’s engagement with the Centre regarding the reduction in the time between two doses, it hasn’t received a favourable response due to the inadequate supply of vaccines.
“While we have been suggesting to the Centre in various meetings to reduce the time gap between two doses of Covishield, we have not yet written to them officially owing to the shortage of vaccines,” an official said under anonymity.
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