Jharkhand Health Minister Banna Gupta urged the centre to provide a minimum of 50,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to the state so that, the state’s immunisation campaign can continue despite the increase in coronavirus cases.
Gupta brought up the subject at a review meeting on Friday that was presided over by Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.
“Jharkhand have run out of COVID vaccine doses. We had sent a request to provide at least 50,000 doses to the state two weeks back but its arrival is still awaited,” he said.
With the addition of 11 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, Jharkhand now has 60 active patients. Gupta claimed that the bulk of the patients were receiving treatment at home and had just minimal symptoms.
Mandaviya stressed the importance of identifying emergency hotspots during a meeting with state health ministers, principal chief secretaries, and additional chief secretaries. He also emphasised the importance of stepping up testing and vaccination efforts as well as ensuring that hospital infrastructure is ready.
Gupta said that the Union minister directed the state to assess the health preparedness with district administrations on April 9 and to perform mock drills of infrastructure in hospitals and medical colleges on April 10 and 11.
The state minister also requested Mandaviya’s assistance in obtaining the Indian Council of Medical Research to approve four RT-PCR laboratories at Khunti, Lohardaga, Koderma, and Pakur.
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