New Delhi
As the Delhi government has rolled out global tenders for procuring Covid-19 vaccines, Delhi Chief Minster Arvind Kejriwal has expressed his apprehensions regarding the procurement process, saying that most of the vaccine manufacturers globally prefer to talk only with the Central government.
After inaugurating the drive-through vaccination centre in Chhatrasaal Stadium at Model Town on Saturday, Arvind Kejriwal said, "We have rolled out global tenders. All our efforts are on but other states that went for global tending so far did not receive encouraging results."
However, Chief Minister in furtherance added, "We have floated the tendering and are hopeful, it will be great if any company does come to us. But I think most of the renowned vaccine manufacturers in the world want to talk to the Central government. Let's see how successful state government becomes." The Delhi government has floated a Global Expression of Interest (EOI) for the procurement of 1 crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines on an urgent basis.
In the EOI, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) stated that the offered vaccine must be duly approved by a competent authority of the government of India.
The Delhi government will accept an offer or expression of interest through e-mail by 5 pm on June 7. The moves are part of efforts to ramp up the vaccination drive against Covid-19.
956 cases in capital
Delhi on Saturday recorded 956 fresh Covid cases, the lowest in over two months, and 122 more fatalities from the infection while the positivity rate slumped to 1.19 per cent, according to data shared by the health department here.
This is the first time the cases count has gone below the 1,000-mark since March 22 when the tally was 888. On March 21, 823 cases were recorded.
