Maharashtra lags in meeting Covid vaccination target for want of supply

On Tuesday, only 263,152 people were vaccinated across 2,734 centres in the state. “It is due to the shortage of vaccines from the Central government that many of our vaccination centres in Maharashtra are closed,” said Mumbai city guardian minister Aslam Shaikh

Published on: Jul 14, 2021, 09:32:57 IST

By Rupsa Chakraborty and Naresh Kamath

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Maharashtra faces an acute shortage of vaccine doses, sparking concerns over being effective in staving off the third wave and reviving economic activities, many of which are dependent on vaccination as per the state’s unlock guideline.

Health workers administer Covid-19 vaccine to senior citizens in Thane July 7. (File photo)

The Centre announced free vaccination for all adults starting June 21, which led to a record 8.5 million doses administered that day across the country. Maharashtra administered 552,921 doses the following day, its single-highest number till then.

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On Tuesday, only 263,152 people were vaccinated across 2,734 centres in the state. “It is due to the shortage of vaccines from the Central government that many of our vaccination centres in Maharashtra are closed,” said Mumbai city guardian minister Aslam Shaikh.

Though Maharashtra remains the state which has vaccinated the highest number of people – 37 million till date; its capacity, health minister Rajesh Tope told the Assembly last week, is 1 million a day. Several districts have been forced to halt their vaccination on certain days after running out of supply, he said. For instance, on July 11, other than Gondia, districts of Hingoli, Sindhudurg, Osmanabad and Wardha recorded zero vaccinations.

“The supply of vaccines has improved compared to previous months. However, the vials are now supplied in lesser quantities on a weekly basis which is slowing down the process as the demand has increased drastically. Though we have a capacity to vaccinate [over] 1 million people daily, we can’t meet our target due to the shortage. We are failing to meet the growing demands,” said Dr Archana Patil, director, Maharashtra Health Services.

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