Maharashtra Minister Aaditya Thackeray On "Vaccinating Mumbai In 3 Weeks"

Maharashtra - the state where COVID-19 took the maximum toll - is considering looking at the possibility of importing vaccines directly for the use of citizens in Mumbai, state minister Aaditya Thackeray told NDTV on Monday.

If that happens, they have a "roadmap" to vaccinate the country's financial capital in around three weeks. The cost, he said, is "not a factor" and the state government is looking at "procurement at the earliest".

"Like other states, we are scrambling and struggling for vaccines," Mr Thackeray told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

"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 within three weeks," he added.

Mr Thackeray said they were all the more positive about this because the vaccine hesitancy which was prevalent in the days after vaccines were launched, is quite gone.

"The vaccine hesitancy has gone away and people are eager to get both shots and carry on with post-Covid life. I think that is crucial," he added.

While the Covid numbers in Mumbai are dropping fast - from 11,000-plus on April 14 to 1,794 over the last 24 hours - Mr Thackeray said, "Until all Indians are vaccinated, all Indians are not safe".

In this matter, he said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray - who is also his father - has asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a different app than Co-WIN, because with many people on the app at a time it is difficult to get appointments.