Starting Friday, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) will start administering Covid vaccines to bedridden patients at their door step.
According to civic official, the drive will be a pilot launch on Friday and will begin in full swing from August 2. On Friday, the BMC will cover K-east ward, which includes Andheri (E) and Jogeshwari areas. So far, the BMC has prepared a list of 4,488 bedridden patients, of which 209 registered beneficiaries are from the K-east ward. The officials said that patients will be administered Covaxin. BMC’s executive health officer Mangala Gomare said that even though there are more than 200 bedridden patients registered in the ward, the actual number of people who will be inoculated on Friday may vary.
“Each patient will have to produce a doctor’s certificate stating that they are fit to take the dose. Another certificate of their disability and illness also needs to be submitted. If anyone fails to submit these certificates, then they will not be inoculated,” said Gomare.
“The drive on Friday will be a test for us as we will be able to analyse the problems we may face and work on them,” she added. An NGO, Project Mumbai, has been roped in for the drive. They will provide logistical support like ambulances, nurses, doctors and volunteers, while the BMC will provide the vaccines. Gomare said that a nodal officer from the BMC will be present with the team during the door-to-door visits.
Meanwhile, CEO of Project Mumbai Shishir Joshi said that two teams of volunteers will be working simultaneously on Friday.
“We will start calling patients from morning. After getting a confirmation over the phone, our members will visit them at their residence and inoculate them after verifying the documents,” Joshi told FPJ.
“We will be providing two ambulances, along with medical volunteers. The entire drive will be monitored by civic officials,” he said.