Covid-19: BMC ready with infra to vaccinate 10 lakh kids

A child receives Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in Colombo. Pic/AFP

After inoculating a big chunk of Mumbai's adult population, the BMC is gearing up to inject COVID-19 vaccine into the arms of those in the age group of 12-17 years. With the civic body aiming to vaccinate all Mumbaikars with at least one dose by end of this month, officials said they can use the existing infrastructure to cater to city's nearly 10 lakh eligible children once the Centre announces the dates.

The Union government recently granted emergency use authorisation to ZyCoV-D for the 12-17 category. It is expected that the vaccine will be launched next month and the initial monthly availability could be about 1 crore doses.

‘Expecting some next month'

BMC officials said they are hoping that a part of the doses would reach the civic body by next month which will help them kick off the drive. Sources said many schools also want their children to be vaccinated.

"About 10 lakh children in the age group of 12 to 17 will be eligible to get their vaccine shots once the government of India announces the drive for them. As we have a vast infrastructure already accessible it will not be a difficult task provided the doses are made available," said Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani.
While it is expected that authorities will vaccinate children with comorbidities first, officials said they are ready to hold special camps in schools at a later stage.

"If provided in abundance and considering that nearly 50 lakh adults are yet to be fully vaccinated, we may take four to five months to vaccinate these children as we will come to know about hesitancy among the parents and children only once the vaccine rolls out," said a civic health official requesting anonymity.

Special drives

The civic corporation is now focusing on the vaccination of over 10 lakh citizens who are yet to get their first shot. It will be starting special drives to reach out to slum pockets and buildings to widen the vaccination cover.

While the drive to vaccinate all adults will not be completed till February 2022, officials said it will only be the second dose that will remain and thus they can easily focus on children.

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No. of vax doses to be available for kids monthly in India initially