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Chief ministers of southern states ask for more Covid-19 vaccines third wave
Chief ministers of southern states ask for more Covid-19 vaccines to beat third wave
Chief ministers of the southern states, during their interaction with prime minister Narendra Modi, asked to increase vaccine supply to ensure maximum protection to people before the third wave of Covid-19 strikes.
Interacting with the PM through video-conferencing on Friday, the chief ministers briefed him about the steps being taken to check control of the coronavirus disease even though the cases were on the rise.
In a video interaction with chief ministers of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Odisha, Maharashtra and Kerala, where many districts have been reporting a high number of cases, Modi said the country stands at a point in its battle with the pandemic where apprehensions about a third wave are being continuously expressed.
These states accounted for 80 per cent of new Covid-19 cases last week and 84 per cent of deaths, he noted in his closing remarks, specifically mentioning the rise in infections in Kerala and Maharashtra as a matter of grave concern for the country. A similar trend was witnessed in January and February before the second wave started, he said. “It’s very important that states with a rising number of cases take proactive measures to rule out any possibility of a third wave,” Modi said.
The PM emphasised effective trace, tract and vaccination methodology and asked states to strengthen micro-containment zone strategy, which has helped some states, such as Assam, to control Covid, without lockdown.
Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Covid-19 situation in the state is under control. He said in Kerala, the second wave started very late and at one point its test positivity rate went up to 30 per cent but now it is around 10 per cent. The CM said the state’s mortality rate remained the lowest in the country at 0. 48 per cent.
On vaccination, he said the state has given the first dose to 11.7 million people and 4.41 million people have got both doses of the total population of 3.46crore. The wastage of vaccines is almost nil, he said. He sought six million more doses to cover a major portion of the population.
Kerala has been accounting for the highest number of Covid-19 cases among all states since June 15. On Thursday, it reported 13,773 new cases, almost one-fourth of the national total of 41,806. Its test positivity rate was 10.95 per cent whereas the national average was below 3 per cent. The virus has shown no sign of abating in Kerala with new daily cases hovering around 10,000 since March.
Andhra Pradesh chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said the state managed reasonably well in fighting against the pandemic despite the lack of modern medical facilities similar to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai. He said the newly setup village/ward secretariats system has played a key role in the effective containment of Covid-19 and said 12 fever surveys have helped in containing the spread of the virus.
The CM said of 17,71,580 doses that were given to private hospitals, only 4,20,209 doses have been used in the month of June. He requested the PM to allot remaining stock in private hospitals to the government so that it would help increase the vaccination process.
Karnataka chief minister BS Yeddyurappa urged the PM to provide at least 1.5 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccine to the state every month and said the Covid-19 cases in Karnataka have declined to 1,900 a day and in Bengaluru to about 400 cases a day.
Stating that Karnataka has so far received 2.62 crore vaccines, the chief minister requested the PM to provide 1.5 crore doses with a targeted 5 lakh doses every day, a government statement said. Yediyurappa also told Modi that the district authorities have been authorised to impose sanctions depending on the positivity rate of Covid-19, the number of cases and the opinion of the Technical Advisory Committee. He also informed the PM about steps being taken to deal with the anticipated third wave.
Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin sought one crore vaccine doses as a special case and urged the PM to exempt all goods needed for Covid management from Goods and Services Tax. He also said the Centre should reconsider its decision to conduct national level exams like the NEET as it may lead to virus spread.
The demand for vaccines has tremendously increased in Tamil Nadu, Stalin said.
“However, when compared with other states, the allocation for our state is very less. To handle this tough situation, I had requested a special allocation of one crore vaccine doses. I look forward to your support in this important issue,” he told Modi.
On July 13, Stalin said that till July 8, 2021, Tamil Nadu received only 29,18,110 vaccine doses from the Centre for people in the 18-44 years age bracket and 1,30,08,440 for the above 45 years category. The allocation was very inadequate and the state did not receive vaccines proportionate to its population.
(With agency inputs)
