MUMBAI: On Thursday, Maharashtra said that twenty-six vaccination centers have been shut in Mumbai due to a lack of vaccine doses. The Union Health Ministry has also been informed about the issue. Last evening, vaccination was halted in various parts of the state. Rajesh Tope, Health Minister said, “Satara, Sangli, Panvel have stopped vaccinations”. It is also reported that due to vaccine shortage, Pune has also shut over 100 vaccination centers.
Rajesh Tope was questioned why the Centre was discriminating against Maharashtra. In reply, Tope said that in a week, the populous state needs 40 lakh doses and 1.6 crore vaccines a month. He added, “Maharashtra has double the population of Gujarat. Gujarat has got one crore doses and we have got one crore doses”. The Minister said that during today’s meeting over Covid 19 with PM Modi, they would discuss the topic of the crisis of doses.
Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Health Minister had accused the state of making false claims to divert attention from its mismanagement of the outbreak. He said, “The inability of the Maharashtra government to act responsibly is beyond comprehension… The lackadaisical attitude of the state government has singularly bogged down the entire country’s efforts to fight the virus”.