JOIN US'Ran out of vaccines completely': Andhra CM Jagan's second SOS to PM Modi in a week
In his second letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a week, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Jaganmohan Reddy has sought a supply of 60 lakh doses of Covid-19 vaccine to the state.
Having set a target of administering over six lakh doses daily, the YSRCP government is facing severe vaccine storage.
A note from the AP health department on Friday showed that only 28,677 beneficiaries, including the first and second dose of all eligible categories, could be vaccinated on Thursday. The same note has put the vaccine stocks in the state as “NIL”
The CM's missive is also sent at a time when AP is recording a massive spike in new Covid-19 cases.
On Friday, the state reported 6,096 new infections (up from 5,086 on Thursday) and 20 deaths. There are 35,592 active cases in the state at present.
Record vaccinations
On April 14, the state has administered doses to 6.29 lakh persons, which the CM said is “the highest single-day vaccination number by any state in the country”.
“Leveraging the village and ward volunteers system, we have not only established our capability of vaccinating over six lakh people per day but also set up a model for all the states to emulate. However, we could not continue the same drive as the vaccine stocks have completely run out,” Reddy said in his letter on Friday.
In response to his previous letter dated April 9, asking for 25 lakh vaccine doses before April 11's Tika Utsav, Reddy said the state has received 6.4 lakh doses.
“If sufficient stocks are made available, we are well-poised to make your dream of vaccinating all vulnerable people a reality in the next three weeks,” Reddy wrote on Friday, appealing the PM to instruct the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to supply 60 lakh doses to cover all persons above 45 years age in the state with the first dose.
Neighbouring Telangana is also facing a short supply. "Vaccine supply is not according to the demand here," said health minister Etela Rajender.