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Updated May 23rd, 2021 at 17:05 IST

Maharashtra suspends COVID vaccine drive for 18-44 age group after Delhi, Karnataka

Maharashtra has now also suspended the COVID-19 inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group, confirmed Chief Miniter Uddhav Thackeray in a virtual meeting.

Reported by: Swagata Banerjee
Maha vaccine drive
Image: ANI/PTI | Image:self
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After Delhi and Karnataka, Maharashtra also has now suspended the COVID-19 inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group, confirmed Chief Miniter Uddhav Thackeray in a virtual meeting with pediatricians. 

The Maharashtra CM said, "COVID inoculation drive for 18-44 age group has been suspended as the supply of vaccines isn't smooth. I'm hopeful that from June production capacity of vaccines will increase, then, we can run 24hr vaccination drive in the state."

On May 11, the Maharashtra government had temporarily halted the inoculation for the 18-44 age group owing to a dearth of vaccines even as the number of people aged above 45 waiting for their second dose was increasing. Addressing the media, Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had stated that the stock of nearly 3 lakh doses directly procured by the state government for the 18-44 age group will be diverted to administer the second dose to individuals in the above 45 years category.

Inoculation for the 18-44 age group halted in Delhi

On Saturday, the inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group came to a halt in Delhi due to a shortage of vaccines, with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal saying it will take 30 months to vaccinate people in this category if the supply crisis continues. The chief minister also wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to ensure an immediate supply of jabs and increase the quota for Delhi.  Delhi requires 80 lakh doses a month to vaccinate people in three months. But it only received 16 lakh doses in May and the Centre has further decreased Delhi's quota in June to 8 lakh doses, Kejriwal said.

Inoculation for the 18-44 age group halted in Karnataka

On May 14, Karnataka Government had suspended the COVID-19 inoculation drive for the 18-44 age group due to a shortage of vaccine doses. However, on May 21, the state government had said that they would resume the COVID-19 vaccination drive for people in the 18-44 years age group from Saturday. The decision came eight days after the government ordered the suspension of the vaccination drive for this group.

COVID In India

The daily rise in coronavirus cases in India remained below the 3 lakh mark for the seventh consecutive day, with 2.4 lakh new cases recorded in a single day, the Union Health Ministry said on Sunday. With the fresh cases, India's tally of COVID-19 cases climbed to 2,65,30,132.

The death toll due to the disease rose to 2,99,266 with 3,741 fresh fatalities, the ministry data updated at 8 am showed. The active cases further reduced to 28,05,399 comprising 10.57 percent of the total infections, while the national COVID-19 recovery rate improved to 88.30 percent.

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Published May 23rd, 2021 at 17:05 IST

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