Civic, state govt officials to hold key meeting today to decide on the procedure to be followed to vaccinate seniors and those aged 45+ with comorbidities
In a file photo from October 2020, seniors chat outside their homes after a power cut. Pic/Sameer Markande
The civic body, which awaits clarity from the state government on Phase 2 of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, said it would hold a meeting on Saturday to chalk out a plan to inoculate the city’s senior citizens and people aged above 45 with comorbidities. Officials on Friday said the BMC’s guidelines are expected to be ready by afternoon.
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An elderly man reads a newspaper outside a shuttered shop in Dadar during a lockdown on April 20. Pic/Suresh Karkera
The central government on Thursday announced that all people aged above 60 and those over 45 with comorbidities will be inoculated against the novel Coronavirus from March 1. However, it did not give detailed instructions, leaving the state and the civic officials struggling for clarity on a range of issues.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) needs to determine the most important step in the programme — the registration process. But, if the government asks the corporation to launch the drive on March 1 itself, it is ready to do so by inviting walk-ins at government hospitals.
“There is no clarity on the vaccination drive as of yet. But if we receive instructions, we are ready to roll out with spot registrations. We can check the identity cards of the beneficiaries and give them the COVID-19 shot,” Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said on Friday evening.
Currently, work is underway on the CoWIN platform for transition to Phase 2 of the vaccination programme, and registration on the app will resume only on March 1.
The state government is carrying out a training programme where officials are being informed about the modules of the app’s new version and taught to use the application that is being overhauled.
The BMC also awaits instructions on ways to spread awareness about the registration process and once it is done, it will start enrolling private hospitals Phase 2.
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