COVID-19 pandemic | MMRDA to build 1,000-bed mega hospital in Mumbai's BKC

It will be ready within a fortnight as a major isolation facility for non-critical COVID-19 cases

Faizan Javed

May 06, 2020 / 14:23 IST

On the lines of Wuhan in China, Mumbai's commercial hub Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) is going to get a 1,000-bed mega hospital.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will build the hospital in a ground in BKC.

Coronavirus India News LIVE

An MMRDA official said hospital work at the ground had started on April 28. It will be ready within a fortnight as a major isolation facility for non-critical COVID-19 cases.

Covid 19 facility under construction at BKC by ⁦@MMRDAOfficial⁩ pic.twitter.com/nJQgf3swNG

— Mumbai 2.O (@mumbai_2) May 5, 2020

The ground where the hospital construction has started is used for exhibitions, political rallies and mega cultural-social events.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

Show