Allaying fears of shortage of Covid vaccines in the state, Uttar Pradesh Health Minister Jai Pratap Singh said that there was no shortage of the vaccines in the state and over four lakh shots were being given daily across the state.
"There is no shortage of the vaccine anywhere. We are working on our strategy and are ensuring that the vaccine reaches every centre in time. Everyday around 3.5-4 lakh people are being administered the vaccine in UP and we have enough stock to meet this target," Singh told 'The Pioneer' here on Friday.
There were reports that some districts of western and eastern Uttar Pradesh were facing acute shortage of the Covid vaccine, resulting in slowing down of the vaccination pace. The district magistrate of Varanasi even stopped vaccination of the first dose at many centres for two days. But those people whose second dose was due were given the shot.
In Lucknow, vaccination was stalled in many rural primary health centres (PHCs). Many PHCs were told that the vaccine would come on Monday or Tuesday and then only the vaccination process would start.
The minister said that when the government received reports from Varanasi, the problem was addressed immediately. "We have no report from any other part of the state about the paucity of vaccines," he said.
"There are many districts where the intake of vaccines is very low while there are other districts where the vaccine is much in demand. We are shifting the vaccines from low intake to high intake regions. A strategy has been made to ensure there is no shortage of vaccines anywhere. Whosoever wants can come and get the vaccine," the minister said.
He said that during the virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday night, the Central government had assured Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath of all help.
"We were told that a regular supply of vaccine will be maintained. Every alternate day we will get a lot of vaccines," he said and added that from April 11 and 14 the state would carry out Tika Utsav and we will do so because we have the vaccines," he said
Meanwhile, in view of the spike in novel coronavirus infections, two senior ministers will visit the worst affected districts. The health minister will go to Kanpur Nagar, Jhansi, Agra and Bareilly while Medical Education Minister Suresh Khanna will go to Ghaziabad, Noida, Meerut and Saharanpur.