E-Paper
'PM Modi is proactive but..': Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar on vaccine shortage
People under the prime minister are not taking this issue of vaccine shortage with the same seriousness, Kishori Pednekar said.
Amid reports that half of Mumbai's Covid-19 vaccination centres on Friday did not start vaccination as their stock is over, Mumbai mayor Kishori Pednekar said she was informed that about 76.000 to 1 lakh doses are about to reach Mumbai, but Pednekar does not have any official information on that.
"PM is serious and proactive about our issued but it seems that the people under PM are not taking this issue with the same seriousness," the mayor said to news agency ANI amid the ongoing exchange of barbs between the Centre and Maharashtra.
The controversy over vaccine shortage started on Wednesday when Maharashtra health minister Rajesh Tope said the state's vaccine stock would last for three days and the state has written to the Union health ministry informing it of the impending vaccine shortage. In a reply, Union health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan issued a statement and said there is no shortage of vaccines in the country and such allegations by states are 'baseless', attempt to cover up their own failure. The minister, in his statement, also said Maharashtra's vaccine coverage percentage has not been impressive.
Vaccine shortage not 'festival': Rahul Gandhi's dig at PM Modi's Tika Utsav
Several BJP ministers rallied against Maharashtra leaders' claims about vaccine shortage and slammed the state for wastage. The bickering went on throughout Thursday as Rajesh Tope accused Union minister Prakash Javadekar of inflating Maharashtra's vaccine wastage figure.
On Friday morning, many vaccination centres across Mumbai, including a jumbo Covid-19 facility in Bandra-Kurla Complex, suspended inoculation. As many as 75 of the 120 centres, mainly at private hospitals suspended vaccinations, news agency PTI reported.
"We are doing everything possible to combat the Covid-19 situation in a better way by increasing of beds and ramping up facilities on war footing," Mumbai mayor said.
While the Centre is reiterating that fresh supplies are being made to states and it is a continuous process, Rajesh Dere, the dean of BKC jumbo vaccination centre, said so far since the beginning of the vaccination, the centre has always received buffer stock and never did a situation like this arise when vaccination has to be stopped. "From day 1, we used to get vaccines before a day as buffer stock. Till yesterday, we had a sufficient number of vials for this centre. Last night, we were expecting to get today's dose but it has not come. Now we have only 160 doses," the dean said.
From day 1 we used to get vaccines before a day as buffer stock, till yesterday we got a sufficient number of vials for this centre. Last night we were expecting to get today's dose but it has not come. Now we have only 160 doses: Rajesh Dere, Dean, BKC Jumbo vaccination Centre
