The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has extended the deadline for its global tenders for COVID-19 vaccines till May 25, after the civic body failed to get any response. The original deadline was May 18.
The BMC had on May 12 issued global tenders to procure 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses from international market in a bid to speed up the inoculation drive in the city. Presently, the civic body is solely dependent on supply of Covaxin and Covishield.
Following suit, other municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region such as Thane and Navi Mumbai have decided to float global tenders.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP Rahul Shewale has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to announce a uniform policy draft for the global tenders for vaccines which can be used by State governments and municipal corporations.
“Several State governments and corporations are issuing global tenders. But vaccine manufacturers cannot supply the doses until ICMR and DCGI under the Central government sanction the process. This is taking time and as a result, their global tenders are not getting response,” Mr. Shewale said in his letter.
