Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association To Vaccinate 500 Members For Free

Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) will organise a free coronavirus vaccine drive for 500 of its members this month on a "first-come-first-served" basis, the film body announced Wednesday. The association, which has 6,000 members, will set up a camp at its Andheri (West) office here on June 15 or June 16.

"All members including those who are facing financial problems... requesting them to fill enclosed form with the Aadhaar card and personal phone number. (It) must be sent immediately on reading this message because entry will be on first come first served basis for the first 500 members," T P Aggarwal, president of IMPPA, said in a statement.

Members who want their spouses to be vaccinated can do so by paying Rs 1,000 per person in advance at the time of filling up the form, Aggarwal added. The producers, whose membership was valid till 2005, are also eligible for the vaccination drive, he said.

Last month, IMPPA wrote to Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to set up a vaccination centre for its members. On Monday, the Producers Guild of India (PGI), the association of Indian film, television and digital content producers, announced a vaccination drive for its members and associated production crews beginning Tuesday. Recently, producer Sajid Nadiadwala also held a vaccination drive for over 500 of his employees and their families.

The central government launched the nationwide drive in March this year to vaccinate everyone above 60 years of age and those aged between 45 and 59 with co-morbidities. From May 1, the central and state governments started vaccinating people aged between 18 and 44. Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 14,123 new COVID-19 cases, the lowest since March 10, taking the caseload to 57,61,015, while the fatality count increased to 96,198.