Punjab, Rajasthan, Delhi join Maharashtra in raising alarm over low vaccine stocks

New Delhi: Punjab and Rajasthan have warned the Centre of fast-depleting Coronavirus vaccine stocks, even as a deadly second wave of infections — over 1.45 lakh were reported in 24 hours on Saturday morning — threatens to overrun the country and its already-crumbling medical infrastructure.

Punjab's COVID-19 vaccine stock will last another five days, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said on Saturday as he urged the Centre to share the schedule of supply of the vaccines.

The state has been inoculating 85,000-90,000 beneficiaries in a day, and at this rate, Punjab's current stock of 5.7 lakh vaccine doses will run out in five days, he said.

Pinning hopes on fresh batches of vaccines from the Centre, Singh stressed that if Punjab was able to meet its target of administering two lakh shots a day, then its current supplies will last only three days.

In an official statement here, he said he wrote to the Prime Minister and the Union Health minister to give confirmed supply schedules for the next quarter.

Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot wrote to the Prime Minister and warned of an even worse condition, with vaccine stocks set to run out in 48 hours or less, and urged the Centre to send 30 lakh doses at the earliest.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also flagged the vaccine shortage issue saying the national Capital had between seven and 10 days of stock left.

Maharashtra Health minister Rajesh Tope has urged the Centre to formulate criteria for allotment of COVID-19 vaccines by taking into consideration factors like population and number of active cases of a particular state.

He alleged that many states, which are smaller than Maharashtra in terms of population and the number of patients, have received more doses.

Talking to reporters, Tope said that out of the latest dispatch of 3.5 crore doses by the Centre, Maharashtra received 7 lakh and the Centre added another 10 lakh "after much persuasion".

"The criteria should be decided in terms of the size of the population and the number of active cases," he said.

He said that Maharashtra, with a population of over 12 crore, accounts for 60 per cent of the total number of active cases in the country.

The number is more because testing has been increased substantially, he said.