Cost not a matter, Govt focused on vaccine procurement: Aditya Thackeray

Mumbai: Maharashtra Tourism and Environment Minister Aditya Thackeray expressed the state government's commitment to ensuring swift and efficient vaccination by prioritising COVID vaccine procurement.

He said that the government is looking for ways to procure vaccines from abroad as well.

Thackeray said the cost is "not a factor" and the state government's priority is "procurement at the earliest". He promised to inoculate Mumbai in three weeks once vaccines are imported to the state.

"We are looking at the possibility of globally procuring vaccines for Mumbai. If we can do that...We have a roadmap to vaccinate the people of Mumbai in three weeks," said Thackeray.

The minister also tweeted that they are working on a method to ensure that people who can't operate the CoWin app are also given access to coronavirus vaccines in time.

Further, Thackeray mentioned the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) shall have a vaccination centre in every municipal ward coupled with a drive-in vaccination centre across all zones of Mumbai and that the BMC has laid out guidelines for vaccination policy of housing societies partnering with hospitals for vaccination within society complexes.

The Minister went on to request that other cities in Maharashtra should also have vaccination drives for citizens above 65 years of age.