As India is preparing to roll out COVID-19 vaccinations for every citizen in the 18-44 age bracket on May 1, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged people to not throng COVID-19 vaccination centres on May 1 since the national capital hasn't received sufficient doses of the vaccines.
"I request you to not queue up at the centres tomorrow. As soon as the vaccines come, we will make proper announcements. Only then people with appointments can start coming to the centres," Kejriwal said.
Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief added that the city government has placed orders for 67 lakh doses each of Serum Institute of India's Covishield and Bharat Biotech's Covaxin in 3 months and they are ready to pay for it. "We have requested both the companies to make 67 lakh doses each available to us in next three months. People of Delhi will be given free vaccines. We are making all efforts to see that the people of Delhi are vaccinated in the next three months," he noted.
While addressing an online briefing, Kejriwal assured Delhiites that everybody will be vaccinated.
Delhi, however, is not the only state to report vaccine shortage. The BMC also halted vaccinations for three days citing a shortage of the life-saving jabs. The vaccination drive for all those belonging to the 18-44 age bracket is also likely to be deferred in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, Delhi reported an unprecedented rise in its daily COVID-19 graph. The national capital reported 395 deaths and 24,235 positive cases in the last 24 hours.
Edited by Mehak Agarwal; with agency inputs