Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramaniam said that the state is running out of vaccines and has sought the help of the Union Government to overcome this crisis. The Minister, in a statement on Sunday, said that the state has six lakh doses of vaccines and it would be exhausted in a day or two. He said that the state has paid Rs 85 crore and sourced 13.85 lakh doses of vaccine and another 12 lakh doses are yet to arrive.
Ma Subramaniam while speaking to IANS said, "We have so far received 95.59 lakh doses of vaccines and have already inoculated 84.5 lakh people and with the current stock we would be able to continue with the drive for maybe two to three days. For people above 45 years of age we have six lakh doses of the vaccine while for those between 18-44, we have only two lakh doses."
The Minister also said that the Tamil Nadu Government has floated a global tender for 3.5 crore doses of vaccine and that the tender process will be completed by June 5. He said, "The procurement of the vaccine will be done in six months and everyone who is eligible will be vaccinated." The health Minister also said that the Chief Minister has sent a Minister to New Delhi to discuss and urge the Centre to initiate steps to commence vaccine production at the Chengalpet Integrated Vaccine complex. As of May 29, India has vaccinated over 21 crore persons in the country.
Meanwhile, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) is identifying homeless persons living within city limits to be vaccinated. According to reports, Corporation Commissioner Gagandeep Singh Bedi has ordered officers to prioritise vaccination for homeless persons living in Corporation shelters. According to data shared by the Corporation, 643 homeless people had received the first dose so far.
(With IANS inputs)