Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has put vaccination for those above 18 years on hold in the national capital citing shortage and asked the centre to ensure immediate supply of jabs and increase the quota for Delhi.
“I am sad to tell you that vaccination for the young has stopped in Delhi due to shortage. We have shut all the centres. We have asked for more doses. We have been told that we will be getting only 8 lakh doses for the month of June. At this rate we will take 30 months to vaccinate all in Delhi,” Kejriwal said in a virtual address on Saturday.
He also said that shortage of vaccine is becoming a problem for the entire country. Delhi requires 80 lakh doses a month to vaccinate its youth. But it only received 16 lakh doses in May. The Centre has further decreased Delhi’s quota in June to 8 lakh doses, Kejriwal said. The national capital needs 2.5 crore doses to vaccinate all adults, he said, urging the Centre to raise the quota and supply to the city.
Vaccines manufactured abroad should be used in India and the Centre needs to procure vaccines on the behalf of states as it will be more effective in bulk procurement, Kejriwal said. Foreign companies should be allowed to manufacture vaccines in India and the Centre should try to get vaccines from such countries that have stocks of more doses than their need, he suggested. Vaccination of maximum number of people in the shortest time is the only way to save Delhi and the country from the third wave of coronavirus, Kejriwal asserted.
He also said that at this rate it will take more than two years to vaccinate the entire population in the national capital. “We have been told that we will be getting only 8 lakh doses for the month of June. At this rate we will take 30 months to vaccinate all in Delhi,” he said.
Kejriwal also said that the speed of spread of the coronavirus has significantly slowed down in Delhi. In the past 24 hours, around 2,200 cases were reported and the positivity rate is 3.5 per cent, he said. The chief minister extended four suggestions to the Centre to enhance vaccine availability in the country. The central government should within 24 hours direct all capable companies in the country to start manufacturing Covaxin as Bharat Biotech has agreed to share its formula, he said. Vaccines manufactured abroad should be used in India and the Centre needs to buy vaccines on the behalf of states, Kejriwal said.
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