BHUBANESWAR: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Friday requested the Centre to roll out vaccination for the 12-18 years age group as soon as possible. Voicing concern over the anticipated third wave and its impact on children, Patnaik during a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said, “I would like to request that the vaccines for the age group of 12 to 18 years may be prioritised and rolled out at the earliest.”
Patnaik was among the six chief ministers with whom the Prime Minister had an interaction over Covid situation. The other states are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. These six states account for more than 80 per cent of the total cases during the month of July.
Patnaik reiterated his demand for allocation of 95 per cent vaccine to the State by reducing the private hospital quota to five per cent. The lifting of the vaccines by private hospitals from the 25 per cent quota has been less due to their low presence in the State, he added.
Recalling the earlier communication with Central government on the issue, Patnaik said, “We had written to the Government of India to increase the allocation to the State government to 95 per cent and reduce the allocation to private hospitals to five per cent. This will help the State to increase the pace of vaccination.” The Chief Minister said that Odisha has been performing very well in vaccination and its wastage is among the lowest in the country.
While briefing the Prime Minister about the progress of vaccination in the State, the Chief Minister spoke about the measures that are being taken to contain the spread of the virus and a possible third wave in the State. He also informed the PM about the steps taken to boost medical infrastructure and the measures taken to deal with post-Covid issues. This was in response to Prime Minister’s request to the states to fill the infrastructure gaps especially in rural areas. The Prime Minister requested the Chief Ministers to expedite the completion of the PSA oxygen plants sanctioned from the PM-Cares fund.