Sensitise states to maintain pace of vaccination, says Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (May 6) undertook a comprehensive review of the COVID-19 related situation in the country. He was given a detailed picture on the pandemic in various states and districts, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said.

He was informed about the 12 states which have more than 1 lakh active cases currently. PM Modi was also apprised about the districts with high disease burden. Maharashtra, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh have an active caseload of more than 1.5 lakh.

The PM was briefed about the ramping up of healthcare infrastructure by the states. Modi directed that states should be given help and guidance about leading indicators to ramp up healthcare infrastructure.

The need to ensure quick and holistic containment measures were also discussed. The PM noted that an advisory was sent to the states to identify districts of concern where case positivity rate is 10% or more and bed occupancy is more than 60% on either oxygen supported or ICU beds.

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PM also reviewed the availability of medicines. He was briefed about the rapid augmenting of production of medicines including Remdesivir.

PM reviewed the progress on vaccination and the roadmap for scaling up production on vaccines in the next few months. He was informed that around 17.7 crore vaccines have been supplied to the states. PM also reviewed the state wise trends on vaccine wastage.

Around 31% of eligible population over the age of 45 has been given at least one dose. PM spoke about the need to sensitise states that the speed of vaccination doesn’t come down. Citizens should be facilitated for vaccination despite lockdowns and healthcare workers involved in vaccination must not be diverted for other duties.

Union ministers Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Piyush Goyal, Mansukh Mandaviya other ministers and top officials were present in the meeting.

PM Modi later tweeted: “Reviewed various aspects of Covid-19 response in the states and districts, including the ongoing vaccination drive and augmenting health capacities.”