2.89 cr. doses available with States: govt.

Health Ministry says 56.81 cr. vaccines doses have been provided to States and Union Territories so far

Nearly 3,250 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to those who have been recorded on the CoWIN portal as people with disabilities. Additionally, 1.87 lakh vaccine doses have been administered to prisoners across the country, according to information submitted by the Health Ministry in the Rajya Sabha during the recently concluded Parliament session. It has noted that this data is as per the information available on the portal as on August 4.

While the Ministry is yet to take a decision on the mixed use of COVID-19 vaccines, officials confirmed to The Hindu that talks were on to ensure speedy availability of foreign vaccines cleared by the government for use in the country.

It said on Monday that 56,81,14,630 vaccine doses had been provided to the States and Union Territories so far, through all sources. “Of this, the total consumption, including wastage, is 54,22,75,723 doses (according to data available at 8 a.m.). More than 2.89 crore (2,89,47,890) balance and unutilised COVID vaccine doses are still available with the States and private hospitals to be administered,” the Ministry said in its release.

The Ministry said that it had issued directions to all stakeholders on near-to-home COVID vaccination centres (NHCVC) for elderly and differently abled citizens earlier this year, making the vaccination programme more accessible to them as they may not be able to travel to the vaccination centres.

Community approach

“The NHCVC follows a community-based approach where the sessions can be conducted nearer to home, e.g. at community/resident welfare association (RWA) centres, panchayat ghar, school buildings etc. for the elderly and differently abled citizens. States have been again issued advisory regarding facilities to be provided to differently abled persons for COVID-19 treatment, management and vaccination, stating that vaccination can also be prioritised for differently abled persons,” the Ministry said.

It said the Central government had made all arrangements to secure COVID-19 vaccines for the eligible beneficiaries as per production and availability.

“The Central government has been providing free supply of COVID vaccines in enough quantity to States for administration to prioritised beneficiaries as recommended by NEGVAC. It is also providing 15 days’ advance visibility of vaccine availability to States, with an advice to prepare and publicise in advance district-wise plan for acceleration of vaccination coverage while being cognizant of the total availability of Covid vaccines,” said the Health Ministry.

Giving an overview of the vaccination drive in the country, the Ministry said the pace of vaccination had improved significantly from an average 2.35 lakh doses administered a day in January to an average 43.41 lakh a day in July. The Central government has issued detailed Standard Operating Procedures to facilitate vaccination of people without identity cards, including prisoners,” the Ministry said.

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