Mumbai’s BMC to vaccinate 1,000 people in 18-44 age group today; all slots full

BMC officials said the 1,000 vaccination slots between 1pm and 6pm at five centres in Mumbai were booked within hours

Mumbai took baby steps to launch the Covid-19 vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group on Saturday with 1,000 vaccines to be administered at five vaccination centres run by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), a symbolic start to coincide with the formation of the state in 1960 on May 1 which is observed as Maharashtra Day.

BMC is vaccinating 1,000 people at five centres in Mumbai from 1 pm on Saturday. (HT Photo/Satish Bate)

In a tweet well past midnight, the BMC announced that the jabs would be given to 200 people each at five centres from 1pm on Saturday and asked people to get their appointment on the CoWIN app or website. BMC officials said the slots were full within hours.

The 5 centres where vaccination begins at 1 pm are Nair Hospital, Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar, Cooper Hospital in Vile Parle, Seven Hills Hospital in Andheri, and the BKC Jumbo facility. Each centre will have 200 doses.

Maharashtra had initially indicated that it would miss the May 1 timeline announced by the Centre for the launch of the immunisation programme for all adults younger than 45 but was later nudged by chief minister Uddhav Thackeray to start a limited drive to commemorate Maharashtra Day.

Last evening, Thackeray said the vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group will begin in a limited way. The slots would be opened up over the next few days and weeks as the state government procures more vaccine doses.

People in 18-44 age group waiting to get Covid-19 vaccine at Seven Hills Hospital in Andheri (Ht Photo/Satish Bate)

In Mumbai alone, the BMC has estimated that 9 million people in the 18 to 44 age group would need vaccination through public and private centres.

Many people who saw the BMC’s early morning tweet announcing the limited vaccination were disappointed. One person, Sanjay P, complained on Twitter that they were not able to see any vaccination slots for Mumbai but spotted open slots in other cities such as Pune and Nagpur.

Another Twitter user Gunjan Lahiri said, “Why are the vaccination centres not being updated on the app? I heard there are 5 sites in Mumbai that are vaccinating the 18+ but when you search it says “no vaccination centres available for booking.”

In line with the Centre’s guidelines, people in the 18-44 age group need an online appointment to get the jab. No walk-ins are allowed.

Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar told reporters on Saturday morning that people should not rush to the vaccination centres unless they have an appointment. “If you have registered but have not received a message, don’t go to the centre and crowd for no reason,” she said.

The civic body also appealed to people to wear double masks if they are going for the vaccination.