Vaccine for above 45 group to last only till Sunday: Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope

PUNE: The vaccine stock to inoculate those above 45 years of age in the state will barely last till Sunday, state health minister Rajesh Tope told TOI on Friday.
They had received 9 lakh doses for this age group, and nearly 8 lakh doses have been distributed and utilised, so far, he added.
“We have approached the Union government as many citizens who are due for the second dose are made to wait because of the unavailability of vaccines. Even after reaching out to the Centre repeatedly, adequate doses are not available for us. It is creating a hurdle in our vaccination drive,” he said.
The state has vaccinated 1.7 crore citizens so far and can scale up the programme provided the Centre allots the vaccines in time, he added.
He said the state government had also sought Covaxin doses as nearly 4-5 lakh of those beneficiaries are waiting for their second doses across the state.
If the supply does not come on time, they would have to divert the doses purchased by the state for the 18-44 age group to those who need the second shot of Covaxin, Tope added.
The state had purchased three lakh Covishield vaccine doses and 4.79 lakh Covaxin doses. Another batch of 3.5 lakh doses of Covishield doses is awaited.
“Overall we had made arrangement for 7.79 lakh doses for this age group . However, we are going slow as there are limited doses,” he added. The government is planning sequential vaccination in this age group where it will first vaccinate 35-44 age group beneficiaries to avoid crowding at the centres.
They may also procure the Sputnik vaccine through the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the minister added.