Maharashtra COVID-19 vaccine stocks to last 3 days: Health Minister
Maharashtra, India's worst-hit state in the COVID-19 outbreak, is fast running out of its vaccine stocks, state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Wednesday. According to Tope, some vaccination centers in the state had to be shut down due to a shortage of vaccines. The state government has requested the Centre to send more vaccine doses. Here are more details.
Only 14 lakh vaccine doses available: Tope
Addressing a press conference, Tope said that the state does not have enough vaccine doses at several vaccination centers, due to which, people are being sent back, and some centers have been shut down. Tope said the state currently has 14 lakh vaccine doses, which will last three days. "We have asked for 40 lakh more vaccine doses per week," he added.
Maharashtra has used 88 lakh doses so far; 3% wastage
Earlier on Tuesday, the state government had said that Maharashtra has received 1.06 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, out of which, 88 lakh doses have been used. Nearly 82 lakh people have been vaccinated in the state so far. Tope sought to highlight that the vaccine wastage rate is 3% in the state, half of the national average of 6%.
Speed of vaccine delivery by Centre slow: Tope
Tope said, "I am not saying that the Centre is not giving us vaccines but the speed of vaccine delivery is slow," according to ANI. Maharashtra can administer five lakh doses in a day, state Principal Secretary (Health) Pradeep Vyas told PTI earlier on Wednesday.
Maharashtra asks Centre to allow vaccinations in 20-40 age group
Tope said that they have asked the Centre to allow vaccinations in the age group of 20-40 years on priority. The state has also asked the Centre to direct neighboring states to facilitate oxygen supply to Maharashtra. 1,200 metric tonne oxygen is being manufactured in Maharashtra and the daily consumption is 700 metric tonne (80% medical use), Tope said.
Maharashtra also needs more Remdesivir doses: Tope
"If needed, we will close down industries that use oxygen but we will not let the supply of medical oxygen be affected," Tope said, according to ANI. Further, he said, "We need a high number of Remdesivir doses as 50,000 doses are consumed daily in the state." He urged private doctors to not prescribe the drug irrationally to hike a patient's bills.
New coronavirus strain suspected, says Tope
Tope said the state is working on "war-footing" to increase the number of beds in Pune, Mumbai, Nashik, and other regions. It is suspected that a new coronavirus strain is affecting people in a shorter duration and samples have been sent to the National Centre for Disease Control, he said. Maharashtra continues to follow the "3T" (testing, tracing, and treatment) protocol strictly, he added.
Andhra also sends vaccine SOS to Centre
Andhra Pradesh also sent a vaccine SOS to the Centre, as it witnesses a surge in the number of infections. The state government has asked for one crore doses immediately, fearing some regions will exhaust stocks by Thursday. Currently, the state only has 3.7 lakh doses available, while its daily consumption is 1.3 lakh doses, a top health official said, according to India Today.
How bad is the outbreak in Maharashtra?
Maharashtra is India's worst-hit state, reporting a total of 31,13,354 COVID-19 cases till Tuesday evening. The total cases include 56,330 deaths and 4,72,283 active cases. On Tuesday alone, the state had reported 55,469 new coronavirus cases and 297 fresh fatalities.
With 1.15 lakh new cases, India reports record single-day spike
According to the Union Health Ministry, as of 8 am on Wednesday, India had reported a total of 1,28,01,785 COVID-19 cases. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 1,17,92,135 people have recovered from COVID-19, while 8,43,473 infections are active. Over the past day, the country added 1,15,736 fresh cases—the biggest single-day spike yet—and 630 more fatalities. The death toll has risen to 1,66,177.
