'Need 83 lakh Covid doses every month': Kejriwal explains 3-month plan to Centre

The CM said that Delhi will need 83 lakh doses every month for both the age group of 18-45 and above 45 so that vaccination can be completed in the next three months.

Aiming to vaccinate citizens of the national capital by July this year, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday sought an increase in vaccine doses supplied to the city-state in a letter to Union health minister Harsh Vardhan.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses the media on the Covid-19 situation, in New Delhi on Saturday. (ANI Photo)

CM Kejriwal also asked the Union health minister to allow states to develop apps or separate mechanisms to facilitate vaccination drives in the wake of glitches being reported from Co-WIN app, an online platform used for registering people seeking vaccination doses.

"Delhi has around 92 lakh people in 18-45 age group. I urge you to direct Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech to increase their monthly supplies to Delhi to 60 lakh doses per month during May to July 2021," Kejriwal wrote in the letter.

The CM said that Delhi will need 83 lakh doses every month for both the age group of 18-45 and above 45 so that vaccination can be completed in the next three months.

Explaining the demography in the divided age groups in numbers, Kejriwal said "45+ age group has about 57 lakh persons. They would need 1.14 crore doses, out of which we have received 43 lakh doses. We need additional 71 lakh doses to cover this group."

"To complete it in three months, we would need 23 lakh doses per month from the GoI channel during the three months of May to July, 2021," Kejriwal said in his letter to health minister.

Highlighting a potential threat, Kejriwal said that as the third wave of Covid-19 is also anticipated soon, the Delhi government would want to complete vaccination of all people within three months.

"We are now using one lakh vaccines every day, which is going to be increased to three lakhs. Therefore, we will have the capacity to apply 90 lakh vaccines per month," the CM said.

In his letter, Kejriwal also sought equal pricing of the vaccine distribution among private and state buyers. He stated that the price of vaccine should be the same - whether sold to the state government or a private hospital. In the current situation, Kejriwal said that the vaccine makers will give the jabs to private hospitals first because it has more benefit (private hospital gets expensive dose).

The ongoing lockdown in Delhi due to surging Covid-19 was on Sunday extended up to May 17 morning with the suspension of Metro train services and prohibition of wedding ceremonies at public places.

Announcing the lockdown extension, Kejriwal said although Covid-19 cases and positivity rate have come down in the last few days, any leniency would squander the gains achieved so far in the current wave of the pandemic.