Health Ministry denies reports of vax shortage in Maharashtra

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has categorically denied media reports claiming shortage of coronavirus vaccines in Maharashtra. The Union Health Ministry called these reports “ill-informed and incorrect”.

“The media reports are not factually correct and do not reflect the correct picture of the available stock of balance and unutilised COVID vaccine doses with Maharashtra,” the Health Ministry said in its communiqué.

Health Ministry also clarified that as per the reports available today, Maharashtra has ~24 lakh unutilised doses of Covaxin available and the Central Government has sent additional 6.35 lakh doses today.

The Ministry also explained that on the basis of the state’s weekly consumption data on Co-WIN, the average consumption by India’s maximum state is ~2.94 lakh doses per day. The health ministry added that the State has adequate vaccine doses for about 10 days to cover the eligible beneficiaries with Covaxin.

It further explained that for Covishield, the state has 1.24 crore unutilised and balance doses as of now. With an average consumption of 3.57 lakh per day, this will last for over 30 days.

Meanwhile, the Centre has supplied over 157.50 crore vaccine doses to states and/or union territories through the free cost channel as well as the direct state procurement category. States and union territories have more than 15.17 crore balance and unutilised COVID-19 vaccine doses to be administered.

“As part of the nationwide vaccination drive, Government of India has been supporting the states and UTs by providing them COVID vaccines free of cost. In the new phase of the universalisation of the COVID vaccination drive, the Union Government will procure and supply (free of cost) 75 percent of the vaccines being produced by the vaccine manufacturers in the country to states and UTs,” the Ministry explained. Business Today