COVID-19 vaccine shortage continues in Mumbai; only those in 18-44 age group to get jabbed today

People wait in queue to receive the COVID-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Mumbai (File image).

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said that only people in the 18-44 age group will be vaccinated against COVID-19 in Mumbai on May 3. Vaccination of people above 45 years will not be conducted due to the shortage of doses, the city civic body said.

COVID-19 vaccine will be administered to those above 18 but below 45 at five centres in the financial hub, BMC said in a statement.

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"Citizens in the 18-44 age group will be allowed in the vaccination centres based on the slots assigned to them after registration on CO-WIN application," it said.

Dear Mumbaikars

A few important reminders

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

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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.

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- Vaccination only for 18-44 year olds today

- Only 18-44s who have booked a slot will be administered vaccine

- No walk-ins at centres

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- 45 and above due for second dose will be updated about dates eventually

- Carry ID please https://t.co/15AO4uuhwo

— माझी Mumbai, आपली BMC (@mybmc) May 3, 2021

The civic body has identified five centres for COVID-19 vaccination for the 18-44 age category at Nair Hospital, BKC Jumbo Facility, Cooper Hospital, Seven Hills Hospital and Rajawadi Hospital.

Read: Centre says 122 crore doses needed to inoculate 59 crore people in 18-45 age group

BMC had earlier suspended the vaccination drive till May 2 owing to a shortage of jabs. "Owing to the non-availability of vaccine stock, no vaccination will be conducted at any Govt/BMC/Pvt COVID-19 vaccination centre till May 2," BMC said, adding that it was making all efforts to ensure availability of more vaccine doses.

Mumbai reported 3,672 new COVID-19 cases on May 2, which pushed the city's infection tally to 6.56 lakh, while 79 deaths took the toll to 13,330, the civic body said.

There are 57,342 active patients in the city at present. Mumbai's recovery rate is 89 percent now.

A statement from the civic health department said that 28,636 tests were conducted in the previous 24-hour period, which pushed its overall test count to 54.90 lakh.

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