Chhattisgarh CM writes to PM Modi, seeks priority COVID-19 vaccination for 'weaker people'

As India gears up for the next phase of its vaccination drive against the pandemic, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In his letter to the Prime Minister, the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister said that so far the state has excelled in terms of vaccination. Stating that in the forthcoming vaccination campaign for people above 18 years of age, Bhupesh Baghel said that some things are coming out that should not slow down the pace of the battle against COVID-19. 

Amid COVID-19 vaccine shortage, Chhattisgarh CM writes to PM Modi

The Chhattisgarh Chief Minister has mentioned in the letter that keeping in view the shortage of vaccine in such a situation, the Government of India should set a sequence of priority in this age group for vaccination and in this order, the socially and economically weaker section gave top priority. At present, the system of registration is only available online, it also increases the possibility of socially and economically weaker sections being deprived of vaccination.

Read the full letter here:

COVID Vaccination for all above 18 

The Centre on April 19 liberalized the third phase of its COVID vaccination drive to include all aged 18 and above. In a bid to meet the need for vaccination, the Centre has asked the vaccine manufacturing companies to scale up their production with the help of International as well as national players and has allowed them to supply 50 per cent of the produced doses to state and private hospitals directly, which means now the States and the private hospitals do not have to go through the entire process, and can directly get it from the manufacturers at the price declared by them. At present, India has two vaccines- Covaxin and Covishield, and will soon have the Sputnik V in the race. Not only this, there are around five more vaccine candidates in the advanced clinical stages of development. 

COVID-19 situation in Chhattisgarh

As India continues to battle against the pandemic, Chhattisgarh so far has registered over 7,13,706 positive cases, out of which 5,87,484 have successfully recovered and 8,312 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the last 24 hours, 15,804 new cases, 16,489 fresh recoveries and 251 deaths have been reported. Currently, the total number of active cases in the state is 1,17,910. 

(Image: PTI)