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The Indian government, on Tuesday, said it has to date provided 218.9 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to states and union territories (UTS).
Under its Liberalised and Accelerated Phase-3 Strategy of Covid-19 vaccination, in effect since 1 May, 2021, the Centre purchases 50% of the total Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) cleared vaccine doses of any manufacturer and distributes them among states and UTs free of cost. The Centre also claims to have facilitated the direct procurement of vaccines from manufacturers by states and UTs.
The Centre said that the total consumption of vaccines by states and UTs, including wastage, was 199.3 million. The government added that 17.7 million vaccine doses were still available with states and UTs for use, while another 700,000 vaccine doses are in the pipeline and will be distributed in 3 days.
Meanwhile, the Centre’s Covid-19 vaccination strategy has also faced criticism, as India faces a shortage of vaccines amid a deadly second wave of the pandemic. Several states and UTs have had to suspend vaccination of the 18-44 age group citing a shortage of doses. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has said that at the current pace of vaccination in the national capital, it will 30 months to vaccinate only the adult population.
Kejriwal had claimed that while Delhi needs 8 million vaccines every month to fully vaccinate its population in three months, it only received 1.5 million doses in May. Kejriwal has said that for June, the Centre will provide only 800,000 doses to the national capital.
While state governments have been given the leeway to source vaccines from global manufacturers, Delhi and Punjab have claimed that companies such as Pfizer and Moderna have declined to supply vaccines to individual state governments in India and have said that they’ll only negotiate with the Centre.
Lav Agarwal, joint secretary in the health ministry recently disclosed that the order books of Pfizer and Moderna are full, as several countries are ahead of India, waiting for the delivery of their confirmed orders.
In the last 24 hours, India reported 196,427 new Covid cases, taking the country's total tally to 26.9 million cases. India recorded 3,511 deaths, taking the total death toll to 307,231.
In the last 24 hours, India reported 196,427 new Covid cases, taking the country's total tally to 26.9 million cases. India recorded 3,511 deaths, taking the total death toll to 307,231.
