Maha Health Minster asks Centre to formulate COVID-19 vaccine allotment criteria

Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope has urged the Centre to formulate criteria for allotment of COVID-19 vaccines by taking into consideration factors like population and number of active coronavirus cases of a particular state.

He alleged that many states, which are smaller than Maharashtra in terms of population and the number of patients, have received more doses.

Talking to reporters, Tope said that out of the latest dispatch of 3.5 crore doses by the Centre, Maharashtra received 7 lakh and the Centre added another 10 lakh “after much persuasion”.

“The criteria should be decided in terms of the size of the population and the number of active cases,” he said, adding that many smaller states with less population and number of active cases had got more doses than Maharashtra.

He said that Maharashtra, with a population of over 12 crore, accounts for 60 per cent of the total number of active cases in the country.

The number is more because testing has been increased substantially, he said.

Tope said the state had mobilised its capacity to administer six lakh doses on daily basis.

“We have scaled up the daily vaccination up to 6 lakh people. Weekly we are able to vaccinate 40 lakh people and monthly around 1.60 crore…We need vaccine accordingly. Where there are more cases, it is necessary that we develop immunity and vaccine is the only answer, he said.

“Today we have 8 lakh doses available and we have been told we will get four lakh doses in a day. If the supply of doses is on a daily basis, how will the vaccines be transported to other parts of the state on time?” he asked.

Stating that 70 vaccine centres in Mumbai have closed and places like Sangli, Satara, Panvel are also facing shortage, due to which all the centres there have been affected.

People visiting the centres are being turned away. All this is very embarrassing; he said and reiterated that the state’s vaccine wastage percentage is just three per cent.