Need to ramp up COVID-19 vaccination, still necessary to wear mask: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray

Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday said the COVID-19 pandemic has not ended and it is still necessary to wear mask and ramp up vaccination.

After virtually inaugurating a hospital and medical college at Alibaug in Raigad district, the CM said vaccine reduces the severity of the coronavirus infection. It acts as "suraksha kawach" (protective shield), he noted.

"The coronavirus pandemic has not ended yet. Question is being asked for how long we need to keep wearing masks. It is difficult to comment on it at this point. We need to use this time (when cases are declining) to ramp up vaccination," Thackeray said.

In the ongoing vaccination drive, Maharashtra on February 21, has vaccinated 3,84,948 in 9,504 sessions. According to data released by the government, as of 7 am on February 22, has inoculated 15,41,22,242 people.

As per the state government data, 4,86,18,937 individuals aged between 18 and 44 years received their first vaccine dose and 3,55,20,000 received their second dose since the inoculation drive for this age group began on May 1.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Monday, February 21, recorded 806 fresh COVID-19 cases, taking the number of active cases to 14,525. Besides, 4 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the day, taking the number of total fatalities to 1,43,586.

With inputs from PTI