The central government on Saturday said that adequate quantities of Covid-19 vaccines will be provided to Odisha based on the pace of vaccination in the state, a day after the state health secretary blamed an erratic supply of doses for its low immunisation numbers.
In a letter to Union health secretary Rajesh Bhushan on Friday, Odisha health secretary PK Mohapatra said that due to insufficient vaccine quantities, the government was unable to plan vaccine sessions.
“While several states are doing 3 lakh vaccinations a day, Odisha is unable to cross 1 lakh due to shortage of vaccine. We are planning to increase our vaccination to 2 lakh shots a day and complete the target before the weather becomes severe,” Mohapatra said in his letter.
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Earlier this week, the Centre announced the expansion of vaccine coverage to include people over 45 years of age, irrespective of comorbidities. There are nearly 10 million people over the age of 45 in Odisha.
Responding to Mohapatra’s letter, Bhushan said that of the 3,446,760 doses of Covid-19 vaccines supplied to Odisha till March 27, about 2,297,431 doses were administered to a total of 2,167,956 eligible beneficiaries. Odisha is left with 1,149,329 doses, he said.
{{/usCountry}}Responding to Mohapatra’s letter, Bhushan said that of the 3,446,760 doses of Covid-19 vaccines supplied to Odisha till March 27, about 2,297,431 doses were administered to a total of 2,167,956 eligible beneficiaries. Odisha is left with 1,149,329 doses, he said.
{{/usCountry}}“In Odisha, a total of 207,229 beneficiaries have been vaccinated in last 3 days resulting in daily average vaccination rate of 69,076 beneficiaries. The ministry has been constantly reviewing daily and allocating vaccine based on the progress of vaccination in all states and union territories. The ministry has already allocated an additional supply of 548,250 doses, which will reach Odisha on March 28, 2021,” he said.
On Saturday, Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan said he spoke with Union health minister Harsh Vardhan regarding the availability of Covid-19 vaccines in Odisha. “Dr. Harshvardhan assured me that there is no dearth of availability of doses of Covid-19 vaccines,” Pradhan tweeted.