The Tamil Nadu government on Saturday floated a global tender to procure 3.5 crore doses of COVID-19 vaccines to administer to those in the 18 to 44 years age group. The move follows a recent announcement by Chief Minister MK Stalin that the state government will float global tenders to procure COVID vaccines to be given to those aged 18 and above. The government sought a delivery schedule of 180 days progressively from the date of purchase order for 3.5 crore vaccines for Rs 2 crore. The last date for submission of tenders is June 5 at 11 am, as per the tender floated by Tamil Nadu Medical Services Corporation (TNMSC) on Saturday.
The tender document, uploaded on the TNMSC website, says the submitted tenders will be opened at the Corporation in Chennai. Manufacturers or direct importers or non-manufacturer bidders meeting the eligibility criteria are eligible to participate in this tender.
Government-owned enterprises may participate only if they are legally and financially autonomous if they operate under commercial law, and if they are not a dependent agency of the purchaser, the document said.
"The vaccine should meet current requirements published by the WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardisation, or requirements of an established body of equivalent stature such as the US Pharmacopoeia, the British Pharmacopoeia, the French Pharmacopoeia, or the International Pharmacopoeia," it said.
The Union government is providing vaccine doses to all states for vaccinating people above the age of 45 and the Union government has now said that states should go in for buying vaccines to inoculate those in the 18-45 age group.
So far, the state has vaccinated 68,78,742 persons, with as many as 62,353 individuals being covered just on Saturday. This vaccination drive on Saturday included 34,245 people aged 45 to 59 years of age and 17,021 senior citizens.
(With inputs from PTI)