Moderna rejects Punjab's request to send vaccines directly to state

Moderna has refused to send vaccines directly to the Punjab government according to their policy, state's nodal officer for vaccination, Vikas Garg said in an official statement.

The leading vaccine maker has said that it only deals with the Central government and not with any state government or private parties, news agency ANI reported.

So far, about 90 million people have been inoculated the world over with Moderna's vaccine.

Punjab government had earlier decided to approach global manufacturers for direct purchase of coronavirus vaccines. Chief Minister Singh directed health department to explore floating global tender for procurement from all possible sources.

Punjab on Saturday registered 201 more Covid-related fatalities, taking the death toll to 13,089, while 5,421 fresh cases pushed the tally to 5,33,973, according to a medical bulletin.

The state's positivity rate marginally dropped from 6.92 per cent on Friday to 6.60 per cent on Saturday, according to the state's health bulletin.