HYDERABAD: The vaccination programme in the State is likely to restart as the State government on Friday announced that it decided to procure 15 lakh doses of the Corbevax vaccine, manufactured by Biological E limited. Health Minister T Harish Rao thanked Mahima Dhatla, Managing Director of the city-based company for her support.
The announcement was made by Harish Rao after attending a review meeting held by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on the increasing cases of Covid-19 and the preparedness of the State. According to the press statement issued by the State Health Department, Harish Rao requested the Centre to supply vaccines as there is no stock left in the State. It was also informed that the Union minister asked the States to directly procure Covid-19 vaccines and booster doses from the open market.
However, the Centre has not made any statement about the withdrawal of the earlier system of procuring vaccines and supplying to States. “While India has achieved over 90% coverage of primary vaccination, the coverage of precaution dose is very low. The Union Health Minister advised States/UTs to ramp up vaccination of all eligible population, especially of the elderly and vulnerable population group,” a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on the review meeting said.
Mandaviya also urged the health ministers of States to conduct mock drills of all hospital infrastructure on April 10 and 11 and review the health preparedness with district administrations and health officials before it. He also urged States to identify emerging hotspots by monitoring trends of cases and sending sufficient samples for testing of Covid-19 and influenza; and ramping up whole genome sequencing of positive samples.