Covid-19: Centre grants Rs 800 crore to Tamil Nadu

CHENNAI: The Centre has granted Rs 800 crore as part of the Covid-19 relief package for management of the second wave and prevention of the third wave, health minister Ma Subramanian said on Thursday.
Subramanian was speaking to reporters after meeting Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya in New Delhi.
The state had demanded Rs 1,500 crore towards management and prevention of the epidemic, he said. “They immediately granted Rs 800 crore. Once we spend this, they will review our proposal and add more funds,” he said.
The state sought additional doses of vaccines. “We need at least 12 crore doses of vaccine, but we have so far received just 1.7 crore doses. More people now queue up for the vaccine, shunning hesitancy. We told the minister how we have vaccinated more people than the doses received. We have no wastage now,” he said.
The state urged the Centre to accelerate setting up of vaccine manufacturing units at IVC in Chengalpet and Pasteur Institute in Coonoor.