Asserting that Delhi is facing a shortage of vaccines, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday, 11 May, underlined the need to ramp up vaccine manufacturing on a war footing across the country, saying that only two companies should not be manufacturing the vaccines and calling on the Centre to rope in others.
The CM has also written to PM Modi stating the same. "The Government of India can do away with vaccine production monopoly using the patent law," he wrote in the letter, according to ANI.
"Right now, we're administering 1.25 lakh doses every day. We'll soon begin vaccinating over 3 lakh people every day. We aim to vaccinate all residents of Delhi within next three months. But we're facing a vaccine shortage. We're left with stock that will last only a few days," Kejriwal was quoted as saying during his address.
Calling for increasing vaccine production on a war footing in the country and framing a national policy to vaccinate everyone in the next couple of months, Kejriwal went on to say, "Only two companies are producing vaccines. They produce only 6-7 crore vaccines a month. This way, it'll take over two years to vaccinate everyone. Many waves would have come by then."
He appealed to the Centre to procure the formula to produce the vaccines from the two companies and share it with the others, further suggesting that a part of the profit of the other companies can be paid as royalty to the original manufacturers.
“Not just two, several companies should be deployed to produce vaccines... The Centre must ensure that all plants capable of manufacturing vaccines should undertake its production.”Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal
‘Can’t Be at Ease Till Positivity Rate Below 5%’: Delhi Health Minister
Meanwhile, in a separate address, Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain said that though the positivity rate has declined from 36 percent to below 20 percent along with a decrease in the daily caseload, one can't be at ease till the rate is below 5 percent and caseload below 3,000 to 4,000.
“The wave is very much there, but seemingly its peak is gradually declining since April end... The demand for oxygen and beds is less now, but it’s there. We have about 23,000 beds of which 20,000 are occupied. It’s a huge number. Oxygen supply should continue, otherwise it will be problematic. We are getting a little less than the requirement of 700 MT liquid medical oxygen.”Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain, as quoted by ANI
Delhi on Monday reported 12,651 new cases, with a positivity rate of 19.10 percent, and 319 deaths.
The national capital is among the worst hit by the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, with severe shortages of hospital beds, medical oxygen and medicines having been reported over the last few weeks.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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