Tamil Nadu on Tuesday received six lakh doses of Covishield. Health minister C. Vijayabaskar, who inspected the consignment, told reporters that the State was awaiting a consignment of five lakh doses of Covaxin.
Till date, the State has received 55,85,720 doses of vaccines and 48,07,148 doses have been administered.
Dr. Vijayabaskar said wastage of vaccines was inevitable as the State did not want to deny anyone who wanted a dose. Besides, awareness about vaccination was low and there were also rumours being floated about the vaccines, he said.
He said a person who may walk into a clinic in a rural centre could not be denied vaccination, fearing wastage. Wastage would reduce when more people were administered the same, he explained. From May 1, when everyone aged over 18 would be permitted to take the vaccines, wastage would automatically reduce, he said.
So far, 8,82,130 doses of Covaxin have been administered and the State has received one lakh additional doses. It is expecting another five lakh doses shortly, health officials said.
Till date, 41,21,783 people have received the first dose of Covishield and 6,85,365 people the second. As on date, the State has 1.45 lakh doses of Covaxin.
“We have a sufficient stock of vaccines, and 4,487 COVID-19 vaccine centres are functioning in the State. We got 1 lakh Covaxin doses two days ago and have distributed it to all centres. Today, we got six lakh Covishield vaccines. So far, the State has received 55,88,720 doses of vaccines and 48,07,148 have been fully administered,” Dr. Vijayabaskar said.
The State has a capacity to manufacture 400 tonnes of oxygen and a storage capacity for 1,200 tonnes, whereas the State’s medical facilities consume only around 240 tonnes, he said.
