West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has apprised Prime Minister Narendra Modi of shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, essential drugs (Tocilizumab and Remdesivir), medical oxygen and hospital beds.
In the letter sent on May 5, Banerjee has said that the Centre's target to inoculate every citizen above 18 years is "unrealistic to achieve" and that ensuring proper supply of COVID-19 vaccines is the core issue right now. She added that at least 10,000 doses of Remdesivir and 1,000 vials of Tocilizumab is the daily requirement in West Bengal.
She added that consumption of medical oxygen has gone up from 220 MT per day to 400 MT and is likely to peak to 500 MT per day in the next 7 days.
Banerjee further talked about the dearth of oxygen cylinders in the state. The West Bengal CM and Trinamool Congress supremo added that 70 PSA units have been allotted to Bengal recently but they are likely to take time to be installed, thus, the current system needs to be bolstered to meet immediate requirement.
This letter by the third time Chief Minister of West Bengal comes almost two months after her letter to the Prime Minister on February 24. In this letter, she had urged PM Modi to allow the state government to procure vaccines from the designated points to inoculate people free of cost.
West Bengal reported 3,38,439 recoveries and 40,096 active COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, The state reported 107 fatalities in the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry data.
Edited by Mehak Agarwal