Facing the vaccine supply shortage, Jharkhand, which was unable to begin an immunisation campaign for people aged 18 to 44 on Saturday, has asked the Centre for help in procuring at least 50 lakh vaccine doses, according to Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The state had requested 50 lakh vaccine doses ahead of time in order to begin the vaccination programme for 1.57 crore people aged 18 to 44 under the Liberalized and Accelerated Phase 3 Strategy of Covid-19 vaccination, for which registration had begun on April 28.
“There are supply problems, and we have written to the central government requesting that at least 50 lakh doses be procured,” Soren told media.
The CM stated that the state was completely prepared to begin the vaccine programme as soon as the lot arrived.
“We expect to begin vaccination for 18-44 as soon as we receive the doses from both manufacturers,” he said.
Soren has also declared that individuals under the age of 18 would get free vaccinations. To kick off the drive, the state ordered 25 lakh doses of Covishield from the Pune-based Serum Institute of India and another 25 lakh doses of Covaxin from the Hyderabad-based Bharat Biotech.
“We have placed an order for 50 lakh vaccine doses,” Health Minister Banna Gupta told PTI. They say it will be delivered between May 15 and May 30. We are completely prepared to begin the vaccine campaign for people aged 18 to 44. If you provide us with vaccines today, we will begin the campaign the next day.”
Gupta claimed that the state has made plans to immunize approximately 4.5 lakh citizens in a single day. According to the minister, 1.57 crore people in the state were between the ages of 18 and 44, while those over 45, including frontline health employees, numbered 83 lakh.
When asked how many people have been vaccinated in the state so far, the minister said that the first dose of vaccine was given to approximately 25 lakh people over the age of 45, including health staff, and the second dose was given to approximately 4 lakh people.
Chief Minister Soren, who recently received the first dose of the vaccine, urged people, especially the elderly, to get the vaccine. Meanwhile, the central government has asked the ministry, in a letter, to directly procure vaccine doses from manufacturers.
“As you are aware, the next step of vaccination will begin on May 1, 2021, with the government of India liberalizing the process and providing more freedom and autonomy to the states.” Vaccine doses will also be obtained directly from suppliers for governments.
