Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday, 23 May, said that the state’s vaccination drive for the 18-44 age group has been suspended in the state as the supply of vaccines is not smooth.
"I am confident the vaccination drive will pick up once the supply is smooth after June," the Chief Minister asserted, adding that it will be expedited once an adequate supply of vaccines is received.
"COVID is not over yet. We must be prepared ourselves for the third wave. In the second wave, we faced a shortage of oxygen. This should not happen again in the future. I want to make sure that there is no shortage of oxygen. We will be self-reliant, but it will take time," the Maharashtra CM said.
Thackeray also stated that "unpleasant decisions" like lockdown had to be taken to contain the outbreak and urged people to seek medical help immediately if they experienced COVID-19 symptoms.
On 13 May, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawala had promised to deliver 1.5 crore doses of Covishield vaccine to Maharashtra after 20 May.
The state has been reporting a decline in COVID cases for the third straight day, adding only 26,133 fresh cases in the past 24 hours. However, the fatalities continue to be high with 682 deaths being reported in the same period, pushing the total COVID death toll in the state to 87,300.
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