Uttarakhand govt forms committee to assist in import of Covid-19 vaccines
PremiumThe state chief secretary had on Monday said that Uttarakhand needs one lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine per day and urged the Centre to allow its import
Amid a shortage in supply and its need to ramp up the inoculation drive, the Uttarakhand government has formed a five-member committee that will work towards procuring vaccines through global tenders.
"It has become necessary to vaccinate the people of the state immediately against Covid-19 in order to contain the outbreak. Considering the shortage of Covishield and Covaxin, a committee has been formed to import these vaccines like Sputnik V from different countries," said state chief secretary Om Prakash on Tuesday.
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1 min read . 08:32 AM IST"The committee will work towards procuring vaccines through global tenders," he added.
The chief secretary had on Monday said that the state needs one lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine per day and urged the Centre to allow its import.
"We need one lakh vaccine doses per day. We have written to the central government to ask if the state government can import the vaccine directly from other countries," he said in a press conference.
"Meanwhile, we have decided to start a mobile testing van very soon. The vehicle will go to remote rural areas to identify the patients and check them for Covid-19 there itself. This will save them the hassle of going to the city for Covid-19 testing," he added.
Responding to a question on the rising mortality rate in the state, he said that most of the deaths are due to late admission of the Covid-19 patient.
He said that the state health secretary will talk to the hospital management and review the availability of beds in hospitals, adding that a joint team comprising of officials from the health department, district officers, and police will inspect hospitals.
"Remediviser injections will be available in the markets at the rates fixed by the government, nothing extra shall be charged," he added.
The Uttarakhand government had on Sunday imposed a state-wide lockdown till 18 May in light of the rapidly increasing Covid-19 cases.
Cabinet minister and government Spokesperson Subodh Uniyal had said that shops will only be open from 7 am to 10, except tomorrow (Monday), where shops will be open till 1 pm.
"Uttarakhand government has decided to impose 'Covid Curfew' between 6 am on May 11 and 6 am on 18 May across the state to contain the spread of the disease. Essential services will be allowed during this period," Uniyal had said.
Uttarakhand recorded 7,120 new Covid-19 cases and 118 deaths in the last 24 hours, said the state control room on Tuesday. As many as 4,933 patients recovered from the disease in the said period.
The active number of Covid cases in Uttarakhand stands at 76,500.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat on Monday inaugurated the vaccination drive for people above 18 years of age.
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