More than 59 thousand people have been infected with the Coronavirus between April 7-8 highlights data from the Maharashtra Health Department, making it the highest single day surge since the beginning of the pandemic in the state (data stands as of Thursday 8 April 2021). 322 patients had succumbed to the virus over the course of the day. The Municipal Corporation for Greater Mumbai (MCGM) stated that Mumbai alone reported 8,938 new Coronavirus cases on Thursday 8 April 2021. According to the civic body, 4,503 patients were discharged from hospitals within a day, the number of recoveries rose to 3,92,514.
In the backdrop of the second COVID-19 wave and single day spike in cases observers have asked if there is a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines required for India’s vaccination campaign. Questions as to whether Modi Governments’s vaccine diplomacy is hampering the India’s own fight against the pandemic have also been raised. With two vaccines being mass-produced, and a vaccination program going on throughout the country, the Modi Government is being questioned by some states as well as health and disease prevention experts about its vaccination strategy and dosage supplies.
The Union Health Ministry said on Friday that Maharashtra is among the ten states that have seen an increase in new daily Coronavirus cases. More than 125 Covid-19 vaccination centers have been closed as these vaccination centers face a shortage in doses. Furthermore, over 70 vaccination centers in Mumbai have been nonoperational due to a complete exhaustion in the supply of vaccines. One of them is a major vaccination center situated in the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), a pivotal commercial hub in the country’s financial capital. According to MCGM data, Mumbai has 120 centers to carry out vaccination with 71 vaccination centers are out of supply, according MCGM data.
“There are many vaccination centers in Mumbai that have just run out of vaccines and vaccination have stopped there. I have come to know that some 76,000 to 1 lakh doses are going to reach Mumbai today, but I have no official information about this,” said the Mayor of Mumbai, Kishori Pednekar. “From the first day we used to get vaccines in the form of buffer stock, until yesterday we got a sufficient number of vaccines from the center. Last night, we were expecting to get the dose today, but it did not arrive. Now we have only 160 There are supplements,” said Dean Rajesh Dere.
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said on Thursday, “The central government is giving us only 7.5 lakh vaccine doses. While Uttar Pradesh has been given 48 lakh, Madhya Pradesh 40 lakh and other states have got almost the same. My question is, why is there such discrimination against Maharashtra?” He went on to say, “I immediately spoke to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan regarding this matter. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Sharad Pawar also spoke to him. I told them how far this vaccine is appropriate for a population of 12 crore? After this, the Union Health Minister has assured me that corrections will be done in this matter soon.”
The Health Minister Tope further said that 16 million vaccine doses are needed every month and 40 million every week and that “instead of helping other countries, the central government should come forward to help Maharashtra. The central government is helping us, but not as we need. The population of Gujarat is half that of Maharashtra and there is a dose of 1 crore vaccine, whereas only 1.04 lakh has been given for Maharashtra.” He also claimed that he had increased the allocation of Maharashtra from 7 lakh to 17 lakhs after the Center “discriminated”. Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan claimed that despite talk of vaccine deficiency, Maharashtra is hiding its failures, but the statement is seen as political than in reality.