Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Friday (April 23) demanded additional medical oxygen for the state, adequate supply of vaccines, and permission to import Remdesivir to tackle the surge in COVID-19 cases, during a virtual meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
An official release here said that the Maharashtra CM also demanded that oxygen be airlifted if possible, as the state currently requires 1,550 metric tonnes of medical oxygen to treat coronavirus patients every day and about 300 to 350 metric tons is being procured from outside.
According to the release, the Chief Minister said that instead of distant states, if the supply could be arranged from neighbouring states, it would be available early, adding that empty oxygen tankers should be flown back to refilling plants to save on transportation time if it was not possible to airlift oxygen.
More than 60,000 patients in the state are on oxygen while there are 76,300 oxygen beds and over 25,000 additional oxygen beds were being arranged, the CM told the Prime Minister, adding Maharashtra should get 250 to 300 metric tons of additional oxygen, considering its requirement.
Speaking on Remdesivir shortages, Thackery is stated to have said, "It is not known how effective Remdesivir is but it surely reduces the period of hospitalisation. The state should get Remdesivir supply based on the number of patients it has."
He further said that Maharashtra needs 70,000vials of Remdesivir every day but is getting only27,000, and it should be allowed to import the medicine, adding that the state has about 5 lakh doses of vaccine in stock as of now.
The release quoted him as saying, "Maharashtra has 5.71 crore people in the 18 to44 age group. We will require 12 crore doses. Our vaccine manufacturers will not be able to produce the required doses in a short time. The corporate sector should also be given permission to purchase vaccines under their Corporate Social Responsibility obligation."
He said the Centre should provide 13,000 jumbo oxygen cylinders and 1,100 ventilators to Maharashtra, and expressed confidence that the state will succeed in containing the pandemic.
No response from Centre on uniform vaccine rate: Tope
Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that there has been no firm response from the Centre to the demand for uniform pricing of coronavirus vaccines. He also said that the Serum Institute of India has informed that it can provide Covishield vaccine to the state only after May 24 as the Centre has booked all the production till that date.
Speaking to reporters after participating in a virtual meeting held by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the states worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic, the Health Minister said, "All the major states have demanded `one nation-one rate' for the vaccine, but received no firm response from the centre."
Tope said, "We have examples of Israel or the UK where vaccination was carried out at a large scale. If the rates are reduced, we could buy more vaccines," adding "If the demand is not met, the state will take responsibility for people under the poverty line only while others, as well as corporates, will have to take the vaccine on their own."
Notably, Opposition parties have questioned why the SII's Covishield vaccine was procured by the Centre at Rs 150 per dose but the states will have to shell out Rs 400 apiece.
(With Agency Inputs)
