Maharashtra to start 24-hour Covid vaccination drive: CM Uddhav Thackeray

Maharashtra government will carry out round the clock vaccination of its residents upon streamlining of supplies of vaccines, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said today.

Covid-19 vaccination for persons between 18-45 years began from May 1 throughout the nation and is being funded by state governments. However the drive was put on hold within days in Maharashtra due to supply shortage.

In an interaction with pediatricians on Sunday, Thackeray said production capacity of vaccine manufacturers is expected to increase from June.

"As the supplies get streamlined we will have 24-hour vaccination drives to protect all the residents of Maharashtra," he said.

The state has around 60 million persons under 45 years of age and needs to procure 120 million doses to vaccinate people in the age group. The state government has expressed willingness to procure all the required 120 million doses at one go but has been unable to strike a large scale deal till now.