BMC gets eight responses for global tender for COVID-19 vaccines, extends deadline till 1 June
The Mumbai civic body has decided to wait for more applicants and details of their plans to execute the order and hence it has extended the deadline for submission of bids, an official said
Representational image. AP
Mumbai: The Mumbai civic body on Tuesday extended the deadline for accepting global expression of interest (EOI) till 1 June even after it has received positive response from eight firms for supplying COVID-19
vaccines.
This is the second extension in deadline, which was to end on 25 May, by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for submission of bids by vaccine suppliers.
"The BMC has extended its global EOI's deadline till 1 June, though we have received some eight applicants so far expressing willingness to supply vaccines against COVID-19 ," IS Chahal, BMC commissioner, said.
The civic body has decided to wait for more applicants and details of their plans to execute the order and hence it has extended the deadline for submission of bids, said another official.
The corporation first floated the global expression of interest earlier this month (the original deadline was 18 May) and received response from three suppliers.
The last date for submission of bids was later extended till 25 May and now till 1 June.
The COVID-19 vaccination drive in Mumbai has been plagued by a shortage of doses. It has been said the BMC is looking at procuring at least one crore vaccine vials for the city.
also read
'We need vaccines, not tears': Congress leaders slam Centre over 'slow pace' of vaccination
Stating that accelerating the pace of vaccination is necessary to prevent a third wave of coronavirus, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram also urged the Centre to back its claim of getting 216 crore vaccine doses by 31 December with hard data
'Is system of vaccine slots a sham?': Bombay HC directs Maharashtra to prioritise appointments over walk-ins
The court also directed the government to ensure that those with prior appointments were not made to wait in queue for long hours at the vaccination centres
COVID-19 vaccine: Poor planning, production glitches likely behind shortage in 'world's pharmacy' India
The Government of India says supplies will improve soon and expects more than 2 billion shots to be available between August and December, but experts warn that such estimates are once again too optimistic