Maharashtra vaccine drive continues to sputter

Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 9,195 new Covid-19 cases even as the state’s vaccination drive was hit for a third straight day owing to a shortage of vaccine doses.

Maharashtra on Thursday recorded 9,195 new Covid-19 cases even as the state’s vaccination drive was hit for a third straight day owing to a shortage of vaccine doses.

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In Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and state vaccination centres suspended their drive.

On Thursday, 272,714 doses were administered in Maharashtra. On Wednesday, the figure stood at 256,019, while on Tuesday, 387,644 doses were administered. This was after Monday’s figure of 620,400 doses and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s statement that Maharashtra had the capacity to vaccinate 1,500,000 people daily, provided it gets required doses from the Central government.

Commenting on the situation, health minister Rajesh Tope said the normal vaccination process will resume from Friday. “We have received 900,000 from the centre and we will start the process again from Friday,” said Tope.

Till now, Maharashtra leads the states, in terms of vaccination, as 32,715,362 doses have been administered till date. The state government has also allowed hospitals to conduct vaccination drives in housing societies to boost the vaccination process. In addition, some social organisations are also tying up with hospitals to conduct the drive in slums.

Dr Ameet Mandot, director, Gut Clinic, said it was imperative to speed up the process. “The Covid-19 menace still continues and will be there for some time. In this situation, vaccination will blunt the intensity of the virus and will play an important role in saving lives,” said Dr Mandot.

Mumbai on Wednesday recorded 656 new cases with 21 deaths as its toll reached 15,472.

The total number of Covid-19 patients right from the outbreak last year has now reached 6,070,599. There were 237,267 tests done on Thursday, while the number of recoveries clocked 8,634. The total number of active patients in Maharashtra currently stands at 116,667, while the total number of deaths right from the Covid-19 outbreak has now reached 122,197. There are currently 116,667 active patients across the state, with Pune topping with 17,086 patients, followed by Thane with 16,105 active patients. The death toll has now reached 122,197, with Pune leading with 16,812 deaths, followed by Mumbai with 15,472 patients.