Amid an acute shortage of vaccines in the national capital, Delhi Development Minister Gopal Rai on Friday accused the Centre of “failing” in its duty of providing vaccines to states, and hoped that the system improves at the earliest.
Aam Aadmi Party MLA Atishi had on Thursday said Delhi’s stock of Covishield vaccine for the 18-44 age group will last less than a day and the government will have to shut more than 150 vaccination sites.
We have already exhausted Covaxin vaccine stock, she had said.
“The vaccines that were supposed to be given to the people of India have been sent abroad and it was done on the direction of the central government.
“I think the Centre is completely failing at this (providing vaccines) and we can only hope that this system improves as soon as possible so that maximum people can be vaccinated and the future dangers can be deferred,” said Rai, after inaugurating a 100-bed COVID care facility at the Ambedkar College in Babarpur.
Referring to his government’s helplessness on the availability of vaccines, Rai said they want the people to get vaccinated, and have opened vaccination centers.
“But if the Delhi government does not get the vaccines, all they can do is request the central government,” he said.
Healthcare workers, frontline staff and those aged above 45 are being given jabs at 623 centres, whereas beneficiaries in the 18-44 age group are being inoculated at 368 centres.
Elaborating about the new community COVID Care Centre in northeast Delhi, that was established with the help of various NGOs and the Delhi government, Rai said the facility was important as the compact area and small houses in the district were making it difficult for people to isolate coronavirus patients at home.
The 100-bed facility, which includes 50 beds with oxygen and 50 without it, is connected with the GTB hospital.
Equipped with oxygen concentrators, provided by the various NGOs, the centre monitored by a dedicated team of doctors, nurses and medical staff has arrangements for food as well.
“In the entire area, the complaints we were receiving was that there are small houses here and so, if someone turns out to be COVID positive, then people are facing troubles even for isolating such patients.
“That is why this centre has been started. We wanted to open this centre a bit early as it was approved already, but this was stalled due to the oxygen crisis,” he said.
The helpline number for admitting a COVID patients in the facility is 9717490962, he further informed.
Delhi has recorded 3,009 fresh COVID-19 cases and 252 deaths related to the disease in the past 24 hours, with a positivity rate of less than 4.76 per cent.
