Vaccine doses in Maharashtra to last only 3 days: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope
Mumbai, Apr 7: Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope on Wednesday said the state has 14 lakh doses of COVID-19 vaccine which would last only three days, and many inoculation centres were being closed due to the shortage of the vaccine.
Talking to reporters here, Tope said people coming to such centres for taking jabs were being sent back as there was no supply of vaccine doses.
"Fourteen lakh doses are available now which would last three days. We need 40 lakh vaccine doses every week. We can then administer six lakh doses every day in a week. The doses we are getting are not enough," he said.
Tope said the state government was earlier vaccinating four lakh people in a day.
"We accepted the challenge from the Centre to expedite the vaccination drive to six lakh per day. Now, we were vaccinating nearly 5 lakh people in a day," he said.
The minister urged the Centre to give priority to Maharashtra, since the coronavirus cases were more in the state and the overall death toll was over 50,000.
"Most of those infected now are in the age group of 25 to 40 years," he said.
There is an urgent need to control the viral infection by increasing the immunity level of people and creating antibodies, Tope said.
He also urged the National Centre for Disease Control to inform the states if the present infection spread is because of a new mutant strain of the virus.
"If that is the case, please tell us what is the course of medication," he said.
Earlier in the day, state principle secretary (health) Pradeep Vyas told PTI that several districts in Maharashtra will run out of the COVID-19 vaccine stock "today or tomorrow" and the Centre has been informed about it.
Maharashtra can easily administer five lakh vaccine doses in a day if there is a clarity on schedule and availability, the official said.
Tope said about 1,200 metric tonne oxygen is being manufactured in the state every day and the daily consumption is 700 metric tonne, of which 80 per cent is for medical use.
The minister said he has urged the Centre to direct neighbouring states to facilitate oxygen suppply to Maharashtra.
Tope also asked all private doctors not to prescribe Remdesivir injections irrationally to hike the bills of COVID-19 patients, and that they should also follow the central government's guidelines on the use of the medicine.
He said Maharashtra has followed the '3T' (testing, tracing and treatment) principles strictly and taken all steps to ensure COVID-appropriate behaviour by imposing prohibitory orders and night curfew to stop crowding.
Nearly 82 lakh people have been vaccinated so far in Maharashtra since the roll-out of the inoculation drive.
An official statement on Tuesday said Maharashtra had received 1.06 crore doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, out of which 88 lakh doses have been used while the wastage stood at three per cent.
It said the state government will vigorously pursue its demand for more stock of vaccine doses, considering the rapid rise in the COVID-19 cases and expansion of the vaccination drive.
Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to allow people above 25 years to receive COVID-19 shots, which he said will protect the young people from the rapid spread of the viral infection at a time when they are stepping outside their homes to earn a livelihood.
In a letter to the PM, Thackeray also demanded that Maharashtra be provided 1.5 crore additional doses of vaccines, which will enable the state government to complete within three weeks the vaccination of beneficiaries above 45 years of age in six districts, including Mumbai.
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Punjab: Blast near army cantt area in Amritsar, hours after explosion in Jalandhar
Chandigarh (PTI): An explosion occurred near the army cantonment area in Khasa late Tuesday night in Punjab's Amritsar, the second such incident which took place around three hours after a blast outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar.
According to the police, an investigation into both blast incidents is currently underway, and no injuries have been reported.
The first explosion happened around 8 pm in Jalandhar, while the second blast occurred at approximately 11 pm in Amritsar.
Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim stated that police received reports of a loud sound at around 11 pm on a road in Khasa. "Our teams arrived on the scene immediately," he said.
Preliminary inspections indicated that someone had thrown an explosive device towards the boundary wall, leading to the explosion, according to the SSP.
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Police mentioned that a piece of a tin sheet covering the boundary wall had fallen as a result of the blast.
Following the explosion, a team of forensic and bomb disposal squad visited the site to collect samples.
Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya S. Warrier, who also visited the scene, confirmed that further investigations are ongoing. Police added that a team of army officials also assessed the situation, after which the area was cordoned off.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows the explosion occurring at night. A local villager reported that his family was awakened by the loud sound and came outside their home to see what had happened.
Before the Amritsar explosion, a blast took place outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar district around 8 pm on Tuesday, causing panic in the area.
CCTV footage captured the explosion, which resulted in a cloud of smoke. An unidentified man was seen running for cover following the blast.
The blast ripped apart a scooter, damaged a traffic signal pole and windowpanes of a nearby shop. Locals recounted that the scooter, which was parked outside the BSF headquarters, Punjab Frontier, caught fire shortly after a loud sound. It belonged to Gurpreet Singh, who regularly delivers parcels in the area.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday night, one of Gurpreet's relatives said that the scooter caught fire as he was approaching it. He immediately called his father and informed him about the incident.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed to reporters late Tuesday that an Activa scooter parked near the gate caught fire suddenly. She stated that Gurpreet is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud sound following the explosion.
On April 27, an explosion occurred at a freight corridor rail track in Shambhu in Patiala. Police had arrested four members of a pro-Khalistan terror module, backed by Pakistan's ISI, for the blast.
In light of these incidents, opposition parties have condemned the AAP government for its handling of the situation.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, over the recent blasts.
"Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day, May 5: Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, April 27: Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and the collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern. Chief Minister @BhagwantMann, who is also the state Home Minister, is busy with mimicry and cheap politics. He has forfeited the right to remain in office," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also slammed the Mann government over the two blasts.
"Back-to-back blasts have shaken Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near Khasa Camp in Amritsar, this is deeply alarming. Who is trying to destabilise our state? Why has the Punjab Government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the Government of India doing? Repeated lapses point to a serious breakdown of intelligence and security. Punjab's peace cannot be compromised. We demand accountability and immediate action," Warring said in a post on X.
