BENGALURU: Amid the raging second Covid wave hitting citizens hard, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediurappa has been holding back-to-back meetings every day to monitor the situation and take quick administrative decisions.During one such meeting on Wednesday evening, he asked officials and ministers to focus on following up and receiving doses of pre-ordered vaccines for the state. The push for following up on pre-ordered vaccines with manufacturers comes at a time when Deputy Chief Minister Dr CN Ashwath Narayan floated the idea of calling for a global tender for vaccines.
With that possibility being a long shot, considering the availability of vaccines in the global market as well as the backing the State government may need from the Centre to endorse its vaccine procurement, the focus currently is on procuring 1 crore doses of Covishield. The state had ordered this vaccine for citizens between the ages of 18 and 44. So far, Karnataka has received only 4 lakh doses of the 1 crore jabs it has ordered from the Serum Institute in Pune.
“Met cabinet colleagues and senior officers to review efforts to tackle the pandemic. Issued instructions on streamlining oxygen supply chain to ensure timely and sufficient supply at the district level, augmenting ICU beds and procurement of vaccines,” Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said in a statement.
He asked for the vaccine shortage issue to be resolved at the earliest. “We continue to receive vaccine doses for those above the age of 45 from the Union government, without hassle. The problem is vaccinating those aged between 18 and 44, since supplies are short from our independent procurement. We will stop all walk-ins for that age group and focus on vaccinating those above 45 and awaiting second dose,” said a source from the meeting. The idea of a global tender, sources said, is far-fetched for now but still under consideration.
Given reports of oxygen shortage in districts, officials have been instructed to maintain sufficient supply via proper augmenting. Those awaiting the second dose of the vaccine will be prioritised, especially with Covaxin recipients. Officials have been asked to maintain vaccine availability data in real-time from each district and have been asked to keep in constant touch with vaccine manufacturers to seize a window of opportunity when it opens.