Centre pulls up Punjab, Maha, Delhi over poor vaccination rate

A letter by additional health secretary Manohar Agnani says said that the performance of the two states and UT have been below the national average and needs improvement.

New Delhi: The Centre has written to Maharashtra, Punjab and Delhi governments flagging below-par vaccination of eligible beneficiaries, including healthcare workers. In a letter to the principal secretaries of Punjab, Delhi and Maharashtra, additional health secretary Manohar Agnani on Wednesday said that the performance of these states and UT have been below the national average and needs improvement.

A medical worker inoculating a cop at a hospital in Amritsar. (HT photo)

They were urged to undertake necessary corrective actions immediately towards improving the performance of COVID-19 vaccination drive in their states and union territory. “I look forward to your unstinted support to the ongoing COVID-19 vaccination drive which is critical to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic,” he said.

Aganani’s letter comes after a strongly worded statement issued by Union health minister Harsh Vardhan in which he hit out at Maharashtra and some other states, accusing them of trying to cover their “failures” and spreading panic among people by demanding vaccination of all without inoculating enough of eligible beneficiaries.