A day after the Maharashtra Government asked the Centre to provide 40 lakh Covaxin and 50 lakh Covishield doses to increase the vaccination coverage, the Union Health Ministry on Thursday scotched reports in a section of the media that the State was facing vaccine shortage and said that it had 24 lakh unutilised doses of Covaxin and that it received additional 6.35 lakh doses during the day.
Alluding to media reports stating that the State Government was unable to increase the pace of vaccination in the State owing to shortage of vaccine, the Union Health Ministry said in a statement: “Such reports are ill informed and incorrect. It is clarified that, as per the reports available today (14th January 2022), Maharashtra has over 24 lakh unutilized doses of Covaxin available with it. An additional 6.35 lakh doses have been received today”.
“ As per their weekly consumption data available on Co-WIN, the average consumption by Maharashtra for Covaxin to cover the eligible beneficiaries for 15-17 years and for precaution dose is almost 2.94 lakh doses per day. Therefore, the State has adequate vaccine doses for about 10 days to cover the eligible beneficiaries with Covaxin,” the Health Ministry said.
“Furthermore, for Covishield, the state has 1.24 crore unutilized and remaining doses available as on date. With an average consumption of 3.57 lakhs per day, this will sustain for more than 30 days for the beneficiaries to be vaccinated using the vaccine,” the Union Health Ministry statement said.
“Hence, the media reports are not factually correct and do not reflect the correct picture of the available stock of balance and unutilized Covid vaccine doses with Maharashtra,” the statement added
At a meeting of Chief Ministers and ministers of various states called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take stock of the Covid-19 situation across the country, the Maharashtra government had asked the Centre to provide 40 lakh Covaxin and 50 lakh Covishield doses to increase the vaccination coverage.
Talking to media persons after the meeting, State Public Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said: “Covaxin is required for the vaccination for the 15-18 age group and Covishield for people over 60 years of age and the frontline workers”.