The state needs a minimum of three crore vaccine doses per month to inoculate the entire eligible population against Covid at the earliest, said state health minister Rajesh Tope on Monday.
Tope said that the state’s capacity is to vaccinate 15 lakh people daily, but as of now only two to three lakh people are being inoculated in a day as there is a shortage of vaccine.
“Three days ago, we got seven lakh vaccine doses. We have received more than 3.60 crore vaccine doses so far; this includes about 25 lakh doses purchased directly by the state government,” the minister said.
Till Sunday, a total of 3,65,25,990 vaccine doses were administered in the state, as per official data.
When asked about the paucity of vaccine doses in the state, Tope said, “We are working below our capacity. It is literally hand-to-mouth situation.”
He said if vaccine doses are supplied properly, the target of vaccinating the entire eligible population can be achieved at the earliest.
On Sunday, the state reported 8,535 new cases, taking the infection tally to 61,57,799, while 156 more fatalities pushed the death toll to 1,25,878, as per the state health department.
