PremiumThe COVID-19 vaccination in Mumbai will come to a halt from Friday as the stocks of vaccine doses about to end, city mayor Kishori Pednekar told PTI on Thursday. The COVID-19 vaccination drive could continue only if the city receives enough number of doses, she added, reported PTI. "The vaccination drive in the city will definitely come to a halt from Friday...Only if the city gets the supply (of vaccines), the drive will continue," Pednekar said.
"The existing stock of vaccine doses could last only till today(Thursday) evening and Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope has also declared about it," she added.
"This is for the first time that Maharashtra is going through such worst situation," she said, according to PTI.
The mayor said that due to the shortage of vaccines, it would be difficult for the authorities to administer the second dose of vaccines to those people who have got the first dose so far.
Maharashtra health minister, Rajesh Tope on Thursday said that the state has only two days of stock of COVID-19 vaccines, after which it will officially run out of vaccine doses for the immunization drive. "Vaccination has stopped in districts like Satara, Sangli and Panvel. There are many more districts where it has stopped. We have two more days of stock," he said.
Meanwhile, several civic-run as well as private hospitals in the city have put up boards outside their premises, which read that due to the unavailability of vaccines, the vaccination process cannot be carried out.
Union health minister Harsh Vardhan on Thursday refused Maharashtra government's claim of shortage of COVID-19 vaccines. “Hue & cry by certain States about partisanship by the Union Govt is just a farce, an attempt to hide their own incompetence. Maharashtra and Rajasthan are 2 of the top 3 States based on allocation of #COVID19Vaccine doses. Both are non-BJP governed States," Harsh Vardhan tweeted.
“Let’s put an end to fear mongering now! #COVID19Vaccine doses: Total administered: 9 cr+ In stock/nearing delivery to states: 4.3 cr+ Where does question of shortages arise? We're continuously monitoring & enhancing supply," the health minister tweeted.
Premium Premium India reported over 1,26,789 fresh cases in last 24 hours with 10 states — Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab amounting to 84.21% of the total.
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