Chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Thursday urged the Centre to give flexibility to states to devise their local strategies for Covid vaccination, within the broad parameters, while seeking a review of the strategy to allow all adults in high-risk areas to be immunised, along with patients with liver and kidney disease below the age of 45.
Amarinder made these suggestions in a letter written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, immediately after the latter’s VC meeting with chief ministers of all states to review the Covid and vaccination situation. During the meeting, he apprised the Prime Minister of the situation in the state, and also the steps taken by his government to control and manage the disease.
The CM also assured the Centre of all-out efforts by his government to contain and manage Covid. He said the UK variant, which is dominating the second wave in the state, is reported by experts to be more virulent and affecting the youth disproportionately. In his subsequent letter, the CM said his suggestions, some of which had been earlier submitted on March 17 to the PM, the Union home minister and the Union health minister, were based on the state government’s interaction with independent experts.
Amid reports of some states facing vaccine shortages, Amarinder also requested the Union ministry of health and family welfare to share the schedule for supply of vaccines with the states over the next quarter, based on their confirmed supply orders. Given that over 80% positive cases found in Punjab are of the UK variant, as per early reports from central laboratories, he also sought strengthening of viral sequencing in the state, which has been reporting around 3,000 cases per day since the last 15 days, with around 8% positivity. The state currently has around 26,000 active cases with recovery rate of 87.3%, with death a matter of concern at 50-60 deaths a day and around 2% Case Fatality Rate (CFR) in the second surge, which struck the state in the latter half of February this year.
{{/usCountry}}Amid reports of some states facing vaccine shortages, Amarinder also requested the Union ministry of health and family welfare to share the schedule for supply of vaccines with the states over the next quarter, based on their confirmed supply orders. Given that over 80% positive cases found in Punjab are of the UK variant, as per early reports from central laboratories, he also sought strengthening of viral sequencing in the state, which has been reporting around 3,000 cases per day since the last 15 days, with around 8% positivity. The state currently has around 26,000 active cases with recovery rate of 87.3%, with death a matter of concern at 50-60 deaths a day and around 2% Case Fatality Rate (CFR) in the second surge, which struck the state in the latter half of February this year.
{{/usCountry}}The Chief Minister also reiterated his earlier request for covering all teachers and staff in all educational institutions for vaccination to enable resumption of physical classes once the surge abates. He also urged the Prime Minister to direct central institutions like IISER, IMTech, AIIMS Bathinda and PGIMER, Chandigarh to increase the RT-PCR testing from Punjab. Further, PGIMER, Chandigarh should be asked to earmark at least 50 Covid ICU beds for patients being referred by the State, he added.
“Currently, 55% Health Care Workers and around 90% Front Line Workers have got the 1st dose of vaccine,” the chief minister earlier told the Prime Minister during the virtual meeting, while disclosing that more than 8.9 lakh persons aged above 45+ have taken first dose of vaccination. He said daily vaccinations have increased from 20,000 per day in mid-March to around 85-90,000 per day, with maximum of 1.32 lakh vaccinations on April 3.
Giving a sense of the reasons for the surge, the Chief Minister apprised the meeting that the primary driver of the spread appeared to be fatigue/ laxity in following Covid appropriate behaviour, large political, social and religious gatherings, and efforts at normalisation such as opening of schools and Colleges. High positivity was being seen in younger population, he pointed out.