Tamil Nadu seeks 1 crore more Covid vaccine doses from Centre

CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu health minister Ma Subramanian has written to his Union counterpart Mansukh L Mandaviya seeking one crore doses of Covid vaccines along with an equal number of syringes in addition to the already committed 1.04 crore doses for organizing “mega vaccination camps” every week.
In a three-page letter, he said the Centre had supplied 3.3 crore doses of the vaccine along with 1.8 crore auto-disable syringes.While thanking the Centre for an uninterrupted supply of doses, Subramanian also listed out the requirements of the state.
Of the 6.06 crore adults, 2.6 crore have received the first dose and 68.9 lakh people have completed the course in the government centres.
“Considering the pace of vaccinations, the current supplies are adequate for only three to four days, making it difficult to plan for covering the eligible left out population,” he said.
Besides the need to vaccinate 3.4 crore people with the first dose, at least 18.9 lakh people are due for their second dose as of September 5, he said.
Now, for nearly a week, the state vaccinates about 5 lakh doses a day.
The letter details how, besides regular vaccinations, the state has to focus on specific groups on a priority basis.
Recalling his request when he met Mandaviya in Delhi on September 3, Subramanian said he said the state had made plans to ensure 100% coverage for adults in all the schools and colleges on priority and time-bound basis.
Since a high number of cases are reported every day by Kerala, priority has been given for eligible persons in the bordering districts - Coimbatore, Dindigul, Kanniyakumari, Tenkasi, Nilgiris, Theni, Tirunelveli, Tiruppur and Virudhunagar.
“Nearly 65. 76 lakh population in the nine districts have to be given the first dose of vaccine,” he said.
The state has decided to organise mega vaccination camps for Covid-19 on a weekly basis to cover the left out adults without diluting the vaccination drive.