COVID-19 vaccination: Delhi to halt inoculation for 18-44 age group due to shortage, says Arvind Kejriwal

New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday said COVID-19 vaccination centres for those in the 18-44 years age group are being closed in the national capital due to lack of doses and appealed to the Centre to provide more vaccines.

From Sunday, all vaccination centres for youths in Delhi will be closed as stocks have run out, he said in a press conference.

Delhi requires 80 lakh doses a month to vaccinate its youth. But it only received 16 lakh doses in May. The Centre has further decreased Delhi''s quota in June to 8 lakh doses, Kejriwal said.

The National Capital needs 2.5 crore doses to vaccinate all adults, he said, urging the Centre to raise the quota and supply to the city.

Kejriwal said that the speed of spread of the coronavirus has significantly slowed down in Delhi. In the past 24 hours, around 2,200 cases were reported and the positivity rate is 3.5 per cent, he said.

The chief minister extended four suggestions to the Centre to enhance vaccine availability in the country.

The central government should within 24 hours direct all capable companies in the country to start manufacturing Covaxin as Bharat Biotech has agreed to share its formula, he said.

Vaccines manufactured abroad should be used in India and the Centre needs to buy vaccines on the behalf of states, Kejriwal said.

Foreign companies should be allowed to manufacture vaccines in India and the Centre should try to get vaccines from such countries that have more doses than what they need, he added.