26.6.21

Maharashtra: 1st state to administer 3 crore jabs

With Maharashtra becoming the first state in the country on Friday to administer three crore vaccine doses, the state government said it can cover the entire eligible population within the next three months if the Centre keeps up the supply.

“Availability of vaccine doses is no longer an issue,” state health minister Rajesh Tope said. “Maharashtra has the capacity to administer 10 lakh doses per day. If the Union government increases its supply to match the state’s capacity, we can vaccinate the entire population in three months,” he said.

Tope also said he has requested CM Uddhav Thackeray and deputy CM Ajit Pawar to increase the budgetary allocation for the health department. “Niti Aayog has recommended an expenditure of 5% of the GDP for the health sector. In reality, it is only 0.9 to 1%,” he said.

There is scope to increase the number of primary healthcare centres, rural hospitals and sub-centres, the health minister said.

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