Formulate COVID-19 vaccine allotment criteria: Tope to Centre
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has urged the Centre to formulate criteria for allotment of COVID-19 vaccines by taking into consideration factors like population and number of active coronavirus cases of a particular state. He alleged that many states, which are smaller than Maharashtra in terms of population and the number of patients, have received more doses.
Centre gave Maharashtra seventeen lakh doses after much persuasion: Tope
Talking to reporters, Tope said that out of the latest dispatch of 3.5 crore doses by the Centre, Maharashtra received seven lakh and the Centre added another ten lakh "after much persuasion."
Maharashtra accounts for 60 percent of total active cases: Tope
"The criteria should be decided in terms of the size of the population and number of active cases," he said, adding that many smaller states with less population and number of active cases had got more doses than Maharashtra. "Maharashtra, with a population of over 12 crore, accounts for 60 percent of the total number of active cases in the country," he said.
State has been vaccinating around six lakh people daily: Tope
"The number is more because testing has been increased substantially," he said. Tope said, "The state had mobilized its capacity to administer six lakh doses on daily basis." "We have scaled up the daily vaccination up to six lakh people. Weekly we are able to vaccinate 40 lakh people and monthly around 1.60 crore. We need vaccines accordingly," he said.
People are being turned away from vaccination centers
He further stated that 70 vaccine centers in Mumbai have closed and places like Sangli, Satara, Panvel are also facing shortages, due to which all the centers there have been affected. "People visiting the centers are being turned away. All this is very embarrassing," he said and reiterated that the state's vaccine wastage percentage is just three percent.
Centre not addressing these issues seriously: Tope
"The Centre is not addressing these issues seriously," Tope alleged. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that all political parties should set aside their differences and unite to save lives from coronavirus.
We need to unite to tackle the pandemic: Raut
"An MLA from Nanded has died, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat has been hospitalized. The virus is attacking VIPs and common people alike. We need to unite to tackle the pandemic. The opposition should cooperate and give suggestions if the state government is falling short," he said. To a question on the Tika Utsav, Raut said, "The program's aim is to create awareness about vaccination."
COVID-19 cases in Maharashtra continue to rise
"Without creating controversies, the Centre should give Maharashtra the number of doses it requires," Raut said. "Meanwhile, Maharashtra, on Friday reported 58,993 new COVID-19 cases, pushing its overall tally to 32,88,540. The death of 301 patients took the toll to 57,329," the health department said.
