Amid the Surge in COVID Cases, Is India Running out of Vaccines?

New Delhi: As India continues to grapple with the second wave of coronavirus on, it has been reported that states with maximum number of COVID cases have run out of Covid vaccines.

Amid rise in new coronavirus cases, many states including Maharashtra, Delhi, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Punjab have reported vaccine shortage in several COVID centres even as Centre denied the claim.

India registered over 1.31 lakh Covid cases in just 24 hours on Thursday. Maharashtra continues to be the pandemic's epicentre in India and the worst hit state with 56,286 cases recorded on Thursday.Read more

Owing to the surge in COVID cases, experts and doctors are emphasising on the need for vaccination. In this second wave of COVID, what has become a major cause of worry for the government and doctors is the fact that the young people are getting affected.

Till now, the people above 45 years of age are eligible to receive the vaccine against COVID-19. The government have also decided to allow vaccination at work places.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to permit all above the age of 25 to be vaccinated.

Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel also approached the Centre to allow all people above 18 years to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Meanwhile, several COVID centres in Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand have reportedly run out of vaccines.

India has already approved two COVID vaccines- Covishield being manufactured by Serum Institute of India for Oxford-AstraZeneca and Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech. Covaxin has been developed by Bharat Biotech in collaboration with Indian Centre for Medical Research (ICMR).

As per reports, Serum Institute of India (SII) is producing 6-6.5 crore doses of Covishield each month and by June they are aiming to produce 10-11 crore doses each month. SII's CEO Adar Poonawalla has sought Rs 3000 crore assistance from the government to ramp up production of the COVID vaccine.

Of the 1400 Covid-19 vaccination centres across Odisha, 700 have run out of doses. Odissa Health Minister Naba Kisore Das has written to the Centre.

Jharkhand too had witnessed shortage of vaccines but received a consignment of 2 lakh Covaxin doses.

Several districts of Uttar Pradesh including hospitals in Ghaziabad have reported shortage of vaccines.

Many states have imposed night curfews, ban or restrictions on public gatherings to control the spike in COVID cases.Read more

Durg, a city located in the state of Chattisgarh is surprisingly running out of burial space amid the surging number of Covid-19 deaths in the district.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that there is no shortage of vaccines and the Centre is "continuously monitoring and enhancing supply".

"Let's put an end to fear mongering now! #COVID19Vaccine doses: Total administered: 9 cr+ In stock/nearing delivery to states: 4.3 cr+ Where does question of shortages arise? We're continuously monitoring & enhancing supply," the minister tweeted.

In another tweet, the Minister mentioned that Maharashtra and Rajasthan are the top two states to have got the maximum number of vaccines. He said that the governments of two states are making noise about the lack of vaccines "to hide their own incompetence".

"Hue & cry by certain States about partisanship by the Union Govt is just a farce, an attempt to hide their own incompetence. Maharashtra and Rajasthan are 2 of the top 3 States based on allocation of #COVID19Vaccine doses," Harsh Vardhan said in another tweet.

Also Read: Second Wave of Coronavirus in India Brings Along New Symptoms

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