NEW DELHI: Delhi's stock of Covishield vaccine for the 18-44 age group will last less than a day and the city government will have to shut more than 150 vaccination centres on Friday, AAP MLA Atishi said on Thursday.
Delhi has received 8.17 lakh vaccine doses for the 18-44 years category so far, of which, 7.49 lakh doses had been utilised by Thursday morning.
"We have already exhausted the Covaxin stock. The remaining Covishield doses will last less than a day for this category after Thursday evening," Atishi said while presenting the vaccination bulletin online.
"Therefore, we will have to shut more than 150 vaccination centres meant for the 18-44 age group from Friday. We appeal to the central government to make more vaccines available for this category immediately," she said.
The national capital has so far received 45.44 lakh vaccine doses for healthcare workers, frontline staff and those aged above 45, of which, 42.99 lakh doses have been administered, the AAP MLA noted.
Around 50,000 Covishield doses are on the way to Delhi for this age group, she said.
"After Thursday evening, the city will have two days of Covaxin stock and nine days of Covishield doses left for this category," she said.
The AAP leader added that 68,604 people received vaccine jabs on May 19.
Fewer doses were administered as dispensaries conduct routine immunisation for children on Wednesdays and Fridays, she said.
A total of 48.69 lakh doses have been administered in the national capital since the inoculation drive began on January 16.
Around 11.01 lakh people have got both the doses.
Healthcare workers, frontline staff and those aged above 45 are being given the jabs at 623 centres, whereas beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group are being inoculated at 368 centres.
Delhi recorded 3,231 fresh cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, the lowest since April 1, and 233 fatalities, while the positivity rate dipped to 5.5 per cent, according to the health department.
According to the latest health bulletin, the new fatalities pushed the death toll from the infection in the city to 22,579.
Delhi on Thursday recorded 3,231 COVID-19 cases, the daily count dipping to below 4,000-mark for the second consecutive day.
On Wednesday, the city had recorded 3,846 cases and 235 deaths, while the positivity rate stood at 5.78 per cent.
Medical experts have attributed the lockdown as the main factor behind the dip in daily cases amid the second wave of the pandemic.
"A total of 3,231 fresh cases were recorded in the city on Thursday, while the 233 new fatalities pushed the death toll from COVID-19 here to 22,579," the health bulletin said.
This is the lowest daily cases count since April 1 when 2,790 cases and nine deaths were recorded.
Meanwhile, amid rising cases of black fungus, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said dedicated centres will be set up for the treatment of black fungus or mucormycosis at three city government-run hospitals.
"Three important decisions were taken at the meeting. Centres will be set up at Lok Nayak Jai Prakash Narayan Hospital, Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital and Rajiv Gandhi Super Speciality Hospital for treatment of black fungus," he said in a tweet.
Mucormycosis is more common among people whose immunity is low due to COVID-19, diabetes, kidney disease, liver or cardiac disorders, age-related issues, or those on medication for auto-immune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.
Delhi has been reeling under a brutal second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping the country, claiming a massive number of lives daily, with the oxygen supply shortage issue at various hospitals adding to the woes.
A total of 58,744 tests, including 43,914 RT-PCR tests and 14,830 rapid antigen tests, were conducted on Wednesday, according to the health bulletin.
The number of cumulative cases on Thursday stood at 14,09,950.
Over 13 lakh patients have recovered from the virus.
The number of active cases decreased to 40,214 on Thursday from 45,047 a day before, as per the bulletin.
The number of people under home isolation dipped to 23,851 from 27,112 on Wednesday, while the number of containment zones mounted to 56,833 from 56,732 a day before, the bulletin added.