Andhra Pradesh CM urges PM to allow procurement of vaccines not 'lifted' by pvt hospitals

As India continues to reel under the COVID-19 pandemic, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday requested the Centre to allow the state government to procure COVID-19 vaccines that have not been lifted by the private hospitals. In a letter addressed to PM Modi, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister said that while only  2,67,075 beneficiaries had been vaccinated at private hospitals so far, 17,71,580 doses had been earmarked for private hospitals for July.

Andhra CM writes to PM Modi

CM YS Jagan Mohan Reddy in his letter wrote, "Past experience and demand for vaccines at private hospitals clearly indicate that such huge quantities of vaccines cannot be utilised by private hospitals. I recommend that the vaccine stocks not lifted by private hospitals should be procured and supplied for the implementation of the vaccination drive."

Pointing out that the state had earlier demonstrated its capacity for large-scale vaccination by vaccination over 13.72 lakh on June 20, 6.32 lakh on April 14 and 5.79 lakh on May 27, the AP CM said that the state government can easily replicate this performance frequently if more vaccine doses are made available. Stating that the country is currently in the midst of what has been called the 'world's largest vaccination drive', he requested PM Modi an early decision in this matter. 

Under the Central government's new vaccination policy, 75 per cent of all vaccines are made available to states free of cost. The remaining are procured by private hospitals.

COVID-19 situation in Andhra Pradesh 

Amid a decline in fresh COVID-19 cases, the Andhra Pradesh Government on Monday relaxed virus restrictions in the state. However, the new relief will not be executed in five districts as the coronavirus positivity rate remained over 5%. As per the new guidelines, curfew is relaxed from 6 AM to 9 PM in 8 districts of the state where the COVID positivity rate is less than 5%.

As per the new guidelines announced by the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister's Office (CMO):

• The curfew will continue from 9 PM to 6 AM.
• Liquor shops, restaurants and other shops will be closed from 9 pm.
• Relaxation will be in effect from 1st-7th July

Districts, where curfew will not come into effect, includes East Godavari, West Godavari, Krishna, Chittoor and Prakasam districts. 

Andhra Pradesh has fo far recorded over 18,85,716 positive cases, out of which, 18,32,971 have successfully recovered and 12,671 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 3,620 new cases, 5,757 fresh recoveries and 41 deaths have been reported. As per the Union Health Ministry, a total of 1,53,89,563 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered to beneficiaries in Andhra Pradesh so far. This includes 1,23,47,245 first doses and 30,42,318 second doses.

(Image: PTI, Facebook- Jagan Mohan Reddy)