Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday urged the Central government to supply 1.50 crore COVID-19 vaccines to the State without delay, saying any time lag would lead to stoppage of the vaccination drive. The State was facing a shortage of vaccines despite the Centre’s promise of adequate supply, he stated.
Mr. Gehlot said, “Rajasthan is not getting the required supply, because of which vaccination had to be stopped several times in the past. This has created resentment among the people”.
He noted that he had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on June 26 informing him that vaccination would have to be stopped in case of inadequate supply. Over 2.05 crore people had so far been administered the first dose, while 75 lakh people needed to be given the second dose in July. Against this requirement, the Union government had decided to supply only 65 lakh vaccines, which was very less. The task of administering the first dose would have to be stopped if vaccines were not supplied on time, he observed.
Mr. Gehlot pointed out that since Rajasthan was geographically the biggest State in the country, the transport of vaccines to far-off villages took comparatively more time. He said restarting of vaccination, after the stocks finished, would take two to three days because of the time involved in transport and storage of dosages.
