Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday urged the Centre to grant permission to State-owned Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation Limited to manufacture COVID-19 vaccine.
At a virtual meeting of all the Chief Ministers that was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Thackeray also demanded that all those above 45 years should be vaccinated, irrespective of co-morbidities.
He said the government was trying to ensure that three lakh citizens were vaccinated per day. “Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation can manufacture COVID-19 vaccine after technology transfer under Mission COVID-19 and under guidance of the ICMR. Or it can also work under fill and finish basis. In case of any option, it can produce 126 million doses,” he said.
According to a press release from the CM office, Mr. Modi appreciated the suggestion and directed all States to check whether such institutes and businesses could be encouraged for the same.
“We have been advising all to follow health norms whether they get vaccinated or not. There are a few instances where despite the vaccine, the person has been found to be COVID-19 positive. A number of young citizens are getting infected and therefore it is important that all those above 45, irrespective of whether they have co-morbidities or not, should be vaccinated,” he said.
Maharashtra’s presentation at the meeting stated that the State had till now given 35.52 lakh doses. It had around 31.38 lakh doses available. “If we can achieve three lakh doses every day, the present stock would last for 10 more days. We will need more vaccines for the State,” said Mr. Thackeray.
