Govt plans to speed up jabs as 2nd wave looms
NEW DELHI: The Union government is planning to take the rate of coronavirus vaccinations to 5 million a day in the next four to six weeks, an official who is part of the key task force overseeing vaccinations said, while adding that this could include doubling the number of daily vaccination at a particular location to 200.
The move is meant to speed up the process when the next and the largest cohort of recipients — members of the general public who are at greater risk due to their age and existing illnesses — begin to be covered.
“Currently the system was warming up to check functioning of the software. Now that it has been proven that the software is able to handle the load, it is just a matter of time before the numbers are scaled up,” said Dr NK Arora, member, National Task Force, on Covid-19 vaccine related initiatives.
The urgency of ramping up the drive has been compounded by strong signs since last week that the country may be entering its second wave of Covid-19 infections. The number of active cases is now back above 150,000, after being lower for two weeks. The number has risen for five consecutive days till Sunday. It was under 150,000 for two weeks after February 7.
Four states have seen a significant jump in their active cases this month. In Maharashtra, the number grew from under 32,000 on February 11 to 54,000 as on Sunday. Punjab’s active cases rose from 2,300 on February 12 to 3,000 on Sunday. In some major regions, such as Andhra Pradesh and Delhi, the number
of active cases has hit a plateau after falling continuously till around the same time.
Maharashtra minister Nitin Raut on Monday said strict restrictions have been set in place in Nagpur district due to the recent surge in cases there. Schools, colleges and coaching classes will remain shut from Tuesday till March 7, as will marriage halls. Social, political and cultural events will not be permitted and major markets will not open on Saturdays and Sundays till March 7.
The districts of Akola, Amravati, Nagpur, Pune, Mumbai
and Thane districts have reported the biggest increase in their case load.
In Akola, this number has gone up by 145% between February 15 and Monday. It rose by almost 75% in Amravati, Nagpur by nearly 62% and Mumbai by over 45% in the same period.
In March, the country will face a tougher challenge in delivering doses than it does now. The government wants to begin covering people above the age of 50 and those with a particular set of illnesses that make them more vulnerable to Covid-19.
The CBI on Tuesday is slated to quiz TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee’s wife Rujira in connection with the alleged coal pilferage case. On Monday, the agency interrogated the lawmaker’s sister-in-law Menaka Gambhir for three hours in this regard. “Though I am unaware of the reason for me being called for questioning or the subject matter of the investigation, you may visit my residence as per your convenience between 11 am and 3 pm tomorrow, i.e. 23 February, 2021,” Rujira said in a letter to CBI, PTI reported. On Sunday, a team of CBI officials had visited the MP’s residence to deliver the summons but Rujira was not present. The agency asked her to join the probe in the matter. It is alleged that illegally-mined coal, worth several thousand crores of rupees, have been sold in the black market through a racket operating in West Bengal where the Eastern Coalfields Limited runs several mines.