Vaccinate everyone over 45, Maha CM tells Centre STOP 2ND SURGE TO PREVENT INDIA OUTBREAK: MODI

Uddhav demands state’s supply of vax doses be hiked to 2 million a week

MUMBAI: Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday requested the Centre to start Covid-19 vaccination for all citizens above 45 years of age to check the spread of the pandemic. He also wanted the state’s supply of vaccines be increased to 2 million doses a week, among other demands made during a meeting of chief ministers of all states and Union territories with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

The state also recorded 23,179 fresh Covid-19 cases, first in excess of 20,000 since September 26 (20,419 cases) and highest one-day spike since September 17 (24,619 cases), taking the tally to 2,370,507. The daily caseload on September 11 (24,886) was the peak of the first wave of Covid-19 infections in Maharashtra. The state’s case spike on September 17 was its second-highest.

On Wednesday, Thackeray said that looking at the large number of young people getting infected, people above 45 years must be allowed to get vaccinated, even if they do not have comorbidities. “Keeping in mind that there is a young population among those getting infected, people above the age of 45, irrespective of comorbidities,

should get vaccinated,” Thackeray said in the meeting with Modi. The state has now targeted to ramp up its vaccination drive to 300,000 beneficiaries daily— more than double its current average of 138,957 per day.

“Several private hospitals have come forward and registered themselves, but they will be allowed to operate, looking at their overall preparedness,” Thackeray said, according to a statement from the chief minister’s office (CMO).

NEW DELHI: If India does not stop a second surge of Covid-19 cases, it could face another panIndian outbreak, PM Narendra Modi said during an urgent meeting with chief ministers, some of whom asked the Centre to open up the vaccination drive to allow more people to become eligible. The PM said 70 districts have logged an over 150% increase in cases recently, and that “quick and decisive steps” were needed to revamp safety protocols, scale up testing, and add more vaccination sites.

“This is also a test of good governance,” the PM told the CMs in his first meeting with them since vaccination started in India on January 16, and stressed on his mantra of “davai bhi, kadai bhi” (treatment also, stringent protocols also).

The PM’s speech centered on several key points — bringing focus back on the test-trace-treat strategy by ensuring at least 70% of tests are through the RT-PCR method, more contacts of patients are traced, and microcontainment zones are created; the need to accelerate vaccinations, reduce wastage, and prevent expiry of doses; and the importance of protecting villages and rural areas that have weaker health resources.

As per our target of 300,000 vaccinations a day, we only have stock that will last 10 days. CM Uddhav Thackeray, too, has told this to PM Modi in today’s video conference.

RAJESH TOPE, state health minister