TMC leader shares CM Mamata's letter to PM Modi; says 'did not receive a reply until now'

As India continues to reel under the unprecedented second wave of COVID-19, TMC leader Derek O'Brien Saturday took to Twitter and shared a letter dated February 24, 2021, which was written by CM Mamata Banerjee to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The TMC leader in his tweet said that the Prime Minister is 'busy cat calling' and this is why he hasn't replied to this letter. 

CM Mamata's letter to PM Modi

Earlier on February 24, 2021, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee had written a letter to PM Modi, expressing her concerns over the safety of people, who will have to come to vote amid the pandemic, without getting the COVID vaccine jab. The letter written by the West Bengal Chief Minister read, "We have embarked upon the COVID vaccination programme in right earnest. All the health workers, police workers, municipal workers and other frontline workers are being covered by COVID vaccination at a rapid phase."

Stating that the state administration is worried for the people, who are forced to go to the polling stations without any vaccine coverage, CM Mamata in the letter said, "We feel that it is equally important to reach out to them with a rapid vaccination programme immediately for the interest of health and well-being of all concerned with the election process."

Read the full letter here: 

West Bengal govt defers vaccination drive due to COVID vaccine shortage

With the third phase of the COVID-19 vaccination drive scheduled to begin today (May 1), the West Bengal government has said that the people belonging to the 18-44 years of age group will be administered the vaccine when the state receives doses. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led government said that the vaccination for those above 45 years of age will continue.

Dr Rupali Basu told ANI,  "Phase III of COVID-19 vaccination drive is different from other phases, we have been asked by the government to write to the manufactures directly for the supply of vaccines. We have written to Serum Institute of India and Bharat Biotech and they said they won't be able to provide us vaccines till June. We are still in conversation with them. We don't have the vaccine with us but we are ready with staffing, vaccination centre, and process. The moment we get the vaccines, we will start the vaccination."

COVID-19 situation in West Bengal

As India continues to reel under the unprecedented second wave of COVID-19, West Bengal has so far registered over 8,28,366 positive cases, out of which, 7,03,398 have successfully recovered and 11,344 have died. As per the latest reports from MoHFW, in the past 24 hours, 17,411 new cases, 13,932 fresh recoveries and 96 deaths have been reported. Currently, the total number of active cases in the state is 1,13,624.

(Image: PTI, Twitter- @derekobrienmp)