States/UTs will receive another 48 lakh COVID-19 vaccine doses within the next three days.
Delhi: India’s states/UTs have substantial COVID-19 vaccine stocks available with them, said the ministry of health and family welfare. About 1,80,43,015 vaccine doses are still available with states/UTs to be administered to its populations, they said.
The press release mentions that the Centre said that it has so far distributed more than 21.80 crore vaccine doses to the states/UTs under the free of cost and direct state procurement category. It added that the Centre is facilitating direct procurement of vaccines by the states/UTs.
The vaccine availability situation, on the other hand, is quite grim in the national capital that has been battling its fourth COVID-19 wave.
Akshat Pratap Singh, a resident of Central Delhi, said, “It has become a part of my routine now. Every day I try to find a vaccination slot on the CoWin app but have had no luck. I even tried a couple of bots to alert me when a slot is available but it has been fruitless so far. I hope the situation gets better once doses from Pfizer and Moderna are available .”
Delhi government’s daily vaccination bulletin of May 23 noted that currently that state had no vaccine stock (both Covishield and Covaxin) for the age group between 18-44 years. Similarly, the state had less than a day’s stock for Covaxin for healthcare/frontline/45 years above age group. The vaccination drive for the 18 to 45 years age group currently stands suspended. On May 22, 2021, the state government administered a total of 66,214 vaccination shots; more than 50 lakh doses have been administered till now.
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that they have spoken to Pfizer and Moderna but they refused to sell the vaccines directly to states and said that they will only deal with the central government, as reported by ANI.
Atishi Marlena, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) took to Twitter and said “It’s a matter of concern that after Monday, Covaxin will not be available for the second vaccine dose of those in the 45 plus category!” She added that the state government appeals to the Centre to make sure Covaxin does are available for those taking their second shot.
Dr. Raman Sharma, a private practitioner based in East Delhi said, “The sooner you vaccinate everyone, the sooner you can get a hold on this crisis.” She added that vaccination, apart from all other medical arrangements, can help to tackle a possible third wave of COVID-19 infections. Given the shortage of shots, the government needs to play a very proactive role and get the required number of shots as soon as possible.
