Mumbai, April 7 (IANS) Bogged by the Covid-19 second wave, Maharashtra is now left with only three days of vaccine stocks. The state is also plagued by shortages of oxygen and Ramdesivir medicines to combat the growing scourge, now soaring above half-lakh new infections daily, a top official said here on Wednesday.

"We have around 14 lakh doses left available… That's the stock sufficient for only three days. Our weekly requirement is around 40 lakh doses to enable us to vaccinate up to 500,000 people. In the current surge, the vaccine is the only 'Ram-baan' available," Health Minister Rajesh Tope told mediapersons here this afternoon.

Sounding grim, Tope said that he has already informed the situation to Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on the prevailing scenario at a video-conference of the health ministers of nine worst-hit states.

Owing to the shortage of vaccines at various vaccination centres, the people are being sent back and the state has demanded that people in the vulnerable 20-45 age groups should be given the life-saver jab on priority, he said.

Close on the heels of Tope's announcement, the BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Mayor Kishori Pednekar also said that vaccine stocks in Mumbai are on the verge of getting over.

"We have barely 100,000 doses left now. Most of our vaccines are being supplied to the government hospitals. If we don't get fresh stocks soon, we may not be able to administer the second dose to the people," a worried Pednekar told mediapersons.

Health Secretary Pradeep Vyas has cautioned that most districts will run out of vaccine stocks in a couple of days or so, and it would be impossible to vaccinate an estimated 500,000 people daily.

--IANS
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