BMC identifies three storage spaces for COVID-19 vaccine when ready

Health workers at a testing camp in Dadar. The vaccines will be distributed to civic health centres. Pic/Ashish Raje

The civic body has identified three of its own properties, of which one will be converted into a Central Storage Facility for COVID-19 vaccines. The BMC aims to complete work on the cold storage facility, where the temperatures will be maintained at 2 to 8 degrees Celsius, before December 15. Also, around one lakh health workers in the city will be the first ones to get the COVID-19 vaccine, additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani told mid-day on Tuesday. The state, on the other hand, announced a task force to ensure vaccine distribution.

While there is no clarity on when a vaccine will be available - four vaccine candidates are reportedly at advanced stages of trials in India - the state government on Tuesday announced that a special task force will be formed to ensure proper distribution of the vaccine and various measures to curb the spread of the virus during a video-conferencing call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The vaccines will be distributed to civic health centres

The civic body will be altering the duties of its COVID-19 task force to ensure proper and transparent distribution.

"The BMC will be giving the vaccine first to medical practitioners who have been working closely with COVID-19 patients for the past eight months. This will apply to both government and private staff," said Kakani. The initial vaccines are likely to be stored at the hospital level itself, where cold storage facilities are already in place. For the proper distribution to the general public, the doses will have to be stored in a proper place.

Also read: Uddhav Thackeray Seeks 'National Vaccine Distribution Policy' From Centre

Civic workers rest after door-to-door visits informing residents about antigen testing at Thakur Village, Kandivli. Pic/Satej Shinde

"One building each has been identified in eastern suburbs, western suburbs and in the island city. We will finalise one of the locations to convert it into the cold storage facility for further distribution. The plan currently includes converting just two floors into cold storage as the utilisation will be very fast. But we will choose a place that has the capacity to expand, in case more vaccines are required. After health workers, frontline workers like police and other essential service providers, as mentioned in the guidelines by the central government, will get the vaccine," said Kakani.

With the civic body testing lakhs of people through primary health centres such as dispensaries and health posts, sources said that the vaccine from the storage facility will also be distributed to these centres.

Trials for various vaccines are being undertaken in the country currently. File pic

Meanwhile, apart from preparing for the distribution of vaccines, the main task at hand is also to arrest the spread of a second wave of COVID-19.

Also read: 'Frontline Workers Will Be First To Get COVID-19 Vaccine', PM Narendra Modi Tells CMs

Civic staff at railway stations

With testing for inter-state travellers mandatory, the BMC will be deploying its staff at railway stations to check arriving passengers. The assistant commissioners of A ward (for CSMT), D ward (for Mumbai Central), G North (for Dadar), L ward (for Kurla LTT), H west (for Bandra Terminus) and R Central (for Borivli) will have to provide manpower to check RT-PCR test reports of passengers.

The staff will also send symptomatic passengers for antigen tests at the station itself and coordinate with private laboratories for collection of samples. Only passengers with a negative result will be allowed to go home. For infected patients, established protocols will be followed, stated a circular issued by Kakani on Tuesday.

Records of all symptomatic cases will be maintained at the ward offices, while zonal deputy municipal commissioners will be taking daily reviews.

Assistant municipal commissioners have been tasked to coordinate with the Government Railway Police (GRP) and station masters to coordinate for announcements and deputy railway staff for assistance.

2-8°C
Temperature to be maintained at the cold storage facility

Dec 15
Date by which the civic body aims to have the facilities ready

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