With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) supplying vials of Covaxin to private hospitals, in the last four days, the usage of Covaxin has increased by 258 per cent.
Covaxin happens to be India’s first indigenous vaccine for the coronavirus. It has been developed by Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech. Till March 18, data shared by the civic body of Mumbai shows 16,106 doses of Covaxin had been used in the city for first and second-time beneficiaries. Meanwhile, the number of Covaxin doses increased to 57,679 on March 22.
According to reports, on Monday, March 22, 18,041 beneficiaries were given Covaxin while Covishield shots were administered to 17,191 individuals. This was the first time since January 16, when the mass immunization programme started, that the daily count of Covaxin doses was higher than that of Covishield in Mumbai.
On the other hand, on March 22, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope stated that the Maharashtra government has requested to vaccinate 20 lakh doses per day as the state is witnessing a surge in instances of coronavirus. He further added that every day, three lakh vaccinations are happening and the government is trying to increase it by roping in private hospitals and setting up sub-centres in rural areas to make it convenient for the people to get themselves inoculated.
In order for the BMC to stick to these stiff targets, it will need more vaccines. To be well-prepared, BMC has already put in a request for 1 million doses of Covaxin. Moreover, the consignment is reportedly to reach Mumbai this week itself.
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