Key Points:
- “There is a need for 2.2 crore doses with the supply fixed at 20 lakh doses each week,” Rajesh Tope said.
- “Three lakh doses per day is our target. I will be monitoring this myself,” Tope said.
- “56% vaccines remained unused,” said Prakash Javadekar lashing out at the Uddhav Thackeray-led government.
Maharashtra’s Health Minister Rajesh Tope has urged the Centre to provide 2.2 crore vaccine doses with supply at 20 lakh each week to the state of Maharashtra. On March 15, Maharashtra recorded its maximum of the vaccination round with a total of 2.67 lakh. Tope has not only urged the Centre but currently being in Delhi, he has placed this demand before the Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan.
“The target is to vaccinate 1.77 crore people and towards that end, efforts have been made to ensure that healthcare workers, frontline workers and priority groups get the first and second doses by May and June respectively. Hence, there is a need for 2.2 crore doses with the supply fixed at 20 lakh doses each week,” Tope said.
Adding in his statement, Tope also said, “We are moving toward another peak in infections of COVID-19 but there is no need to panic. About 95% of all patients are asymptomatic. We want to be aggressive in vaccination. Three lakh doses per day is our target. I will be monitoring this myself.”
Further assuring that there are enough beds available for the Covid-19 patients in both, government and private hospitals, Tope also said, “Putting cities and districts under lockdown, partial lockdown, or night curfews aims to put a pause on the spread of the virus. Our focus is on tracking, tracing and vaccination.”
While an online meeting of chief ministers of various states with Prime Minister Narendra Modi Wednesday, Union health ministry officials said the speed of Covid vaccinations in Maharashtra “was satisfactory as compared with other major states, but more needs to be done”, a statement from the CMO said.
During the meeting, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar happened to lash out at the Thackeray led government saying that over 31 lakh vaccine doses lying unused.
“Maharashtra Government had only used 23 lakh vaccines out of the total 54 lakh vaccines sent to the state, till 12th March. 56% vaccines remained unused. Now, Shiv Sena MP asks for more vaccines for the state. First mismanagement of pandemic now poor administration of vaccines,” he wrote.
“I have told this to Rajesh Bhushan. Today, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray too informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi about this…” Tope added that based on their targeted vaccination, they want additional vaccination centres. “The state government has requested the Health Ministry to allow more centres to jab people for speeding the vaccination process,” Tope.
