Vaccines are not out of stock, no shortages in states: Health ministry

As the registration for the next phase of Covid-19 vaccinations for all above 18 years of age opens, the health ministry on Tuesday shared data to counter claims that vaccines in several states, including Maharashtra, were out of stock. 
 
The data showed that 150 million doses had been given to the states so far, of which 10 million were still available with them. Another 8 million doses would be supplied to them by the Centre in the next three days. The data also showed that vaccine wastage was almost 5 per cent or above in eight states. In Maharashtra, it is at a much lower level at 0.22 per cent, while Delhi, it is almost 4 per cent. 
 
The government is hoping to scale up the vaccination drive in the coming phase through its “liberalised and accelerated” strategy, which allows states and industrial establishments to procure vaccines directly for the manufacturers.