Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said this afternoon that his government can vaccinate the entire population of the national capital in three months if around 85 lakh doses a month is available to them.
Presently, the city is administering about 1 lakh vaccine does every day which needs to be increased to 3 lakh said, the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
“A lot of people from neighbouring cities – Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Sonipat, Gurgaon, Noida – are coming to Delhi to get their Covid shots because they’re liking the arrangements here. But we do not have enough vaccines. If we get doses in the right quantity, we can vaccinate the entire national capital in three months,” Mr Kejriwal said this afternoon in a televised press briefing.
Explaining the math, he further added: “So far, we have got 40 lakh doses. There are about 1 crore people in the 18-44 age group; a total of 1.5 crore people are above 18 years of age. We need 2.6 crore vaccines in three months. Every month, we need about 80-85 lakh doses. I appeal to the centre to increase the number of doses for Delhi.”
दिल्ली में चल रहे अब तक के सबसे बड़े कोरोना वैक्सीनेशन अभियान पर महत्वपूर्ण प्रेस वार्ता | LIVE https://t.co/leUHSH6Krr
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) May 8, 2021
At the Health Ministry’s briefing the government earlier said this week that the third wave of Covid-19 is unavoidable. The centre said, India could excuse the third wave by implementing strict measures in all the places possible.
However, this was being mentioned by Arvind Kejriwal today and he said, “As we anticipate a third wave, it becomes all the more necessary to speed up the vaccine drive.”
Delhi is vaccinating people in the age group of 18-44 in about 100 schools for now. This number will be increased to 300, he further noted.
Following the last few weeks, the national capital saw an alarming surge in Covid cases which has put a tremendous burden on the hospitals.
SOS messages on social media – from hospitals, patients and their families for medical oxygen and other resources – from the city and other parts of the country caught the world’s attention.
On Friday, Arvind Kejriwal said the city’s oxygen crisis has been resolved. “Now there is no lack of oxygen in Delhi. We should have enough oxygen beds so that no patient is deprived,” he said.
However, the Supreme Court has told the central government to ensure 700 tonnes of medical oxygen for the city every day.
