Mumbai: Public centers wrestling with vaccine shortages have hundreds of marching every day while private hospitals sitting in thousands of doses have several takers.
These paradoxes have encouraged citizenship authorities to explore the CSR route (Corporate Social Responsibility) through bonds with private facilities, companies and NGOs to expand the scope of immunization in slums.
Guardian Minister Aditya Thackeray, who led the meeting on Monday with Commissioner was Chahal, said the corporation had to explore these roads.
BMC has not been able to buy a vaccine itself despite floating tender.
“Efforts must be made to make vaccine stocks available through NGOs and corporate social responsibility funds,” Thackeray said, adding that the awareness campaign for those who want to take the second dose must also be done.
The need to spread nets for vaccines has emerged from the exercises carried out by BMC to assess the quantity of qualify for the second shooting every day.
With that calculation, thousands will begin to qualify for the second dose of this week and the majority in the group 18-44.
On July 29, 15,000 will be eligible for the second dose.
In the following days, the same number will meet the requirements.
So far, 2,500-5,000 are qualified for the second covishield shot every day.
The additional city commission Suresh Kakani told TII that several private hospitals have shown willingness to contribute doses for slum occupants.
The discussion continued with several hospitals other than NGOs, said Mangala Gomare, BMC executive health worker.
“They are willing to donate each of it either dose, but we still sort out the details,” he said.
He said the daily list of the second dose recipient will be shared with the state and the center to reduce more doses.
Efforts are also made at the environmental level to raise funds for vaccines.
Some vaccinations through the CSR initiative have already taken place.
A group of Surana Hospital, for example, is the residents of the slum in Dharavi and Worli with support from Icici Lombard, said a civilian official.
So far 15,000 have been borne and 27,000 other doses are on the pipeline.
A city resident told TII his home help had failed to be vaccinated despite trying three times in the past few weeks.
“Because of the shortcomings, most of the free centers only have 100-200 slots that force people to wait in the queue since 4am,” said the resident.
BJP Corporator Atul Shah, who coordinated with the Civic Vaccination Center in the Madhav Bauug Temple Complex in Bhuleshwar, said the local residents were discouraged when they came to the center and had to go back without getting a shot.
On July 24, a total of 67.25lakh doses had been given in the city.
Nearly 16lakh has obtained both doses while 51.50 lakh has taken the first dose.
The city has an estimated population of adults 93lakh.
With input from Richa Pinto
Mumbai Civic Body Eyes CSR routes to facilitate lack of vaccines
