PUNE:
Maharashtra is expected to receive its third instalment of 10.35 lakh doses of Covishield
vaccine this week after
Serum Institute of India began nationwide dispatch of 1.1 crore doses on Monday.
The state had earlier received 18 lakh doses of the vaccine —- in two instalments.
Over 16 lakh priority individuals — 10.55 lakh
healthcare workers and 5.5 lakh
frontline workers — have registered for vaccination in Maharashtra. The state will need 32 lakh doses to vaccinate this number as
Covid inoculation is a two-dose regimen given four weeks apart.
State immunization officer Dileep Patil said, “We can expand our vaccination drive once the consignment of these 10,35,500 doses arrives, which is expected this week.”
The state is aiming to finish vaccinating all registered healthcare workers by February 12, and all frontline workers by March 15.
“A mop-up vaccination round for health workers, which will cover those who could not be vaccinated in the first phase, is also expected from February 25,” said
Sanjay Deshmukh, deputy director of the state health department, Pune region.
Maharashtra, which also has the highest number of healthcare workers signed up to receive the Covid vaccine, has been lagging behind over a dozen states in vaccination pace. Its completion rate of 45% is well below the national average of 55%.