As the country rolls out the third phase of its immunisation drive against Covid-19, Mumbai Mayor Kishori Pednekar said on Saturday that people between 18-44 years of age will be able to get inoculated only after they receive a confirmation message from the vaccination centre.
"People who have registered on CoWIN platform and received a message can go to vaccination centres. Do not go to centres until and unless you receive a message. If you have registered but have not received a message, do not go to the centre," Pednekar said.
"Priority will be given to people between 45 to 60 years of age coming in for their second dose. Vaccines will be given to people between 18 to 44 years of age only after they have registered and received a message. Vaccine centres will function as and when we receive vaccines," the mayor added.
She also urged people to wear double masks and not step out of their houses unnecessarily.
Amid an alarming surge in coronavirus infections, the third phase of the vaccination began on Saturday.
However, several states have flagged the shortage of vaccines and expressed their inability to start vaccinating people above 18 years.
Shortage in Maharashtra
State deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Saturday said that Maharashtra had plans for a large-scale rollout of the third phase of the vaccination drive but it doesn't even have enough stock to inoculate people aged 45 and above.
"We had planned a big event for today but we received only 3 lakh doses for today. Out of that, 20,000 have been given to Pune district. Today, we do not have stock to vaccinate people aged 45 and above hence vaccination centres in Pune district were closed," said the minister.
"We had taken a decision in a cabinet meeting that people aged 18 to 44 years will start getting vaccinated from 1 May. As many as 5.71 crore people are there in this age category in Maharashtra and we have to vaccinate around 12 crore people," he added.
According to Pawar, the state was supposed to purchase a total of 6.5 crore doses but Serum Institute of India (SII) CEO Adar Poonawalla informed that it was difficult for them to provide vaccines in such a large amount.
Mumbai is planning to administer around 20,000 doses to people in the age group of 18-44 at five hospitals on Saturday and Sunday. Those who are above 45 will be vaccinated whenever new vaccine stocks arrive, said BMC.
Nagpur district too is only administering the anti-Covid shots to the newly eligible age group.
"We have received update from head office that vaccine will be administered only to people between 18-44 years of age today. Their vaccination will begin at 2 pm," an official was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
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