Maharashtra aims to vaccinate 20mn in September to ‘prevent or delay’ 3rd wave

Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 4,057 new Covid-19 cases and 67 related deaths. Mumbai’s tally of new cases was 495 and the city also reported two Covid deaths, pushing its toll to 15,993

After administering a record-breaking 1,225,541 doses of Covid vaccine on Saturday, Maharashtra has set a target to inoculate over 20 million people in September, requiring a raise in the average number of doses administered daily from 482,695 in August to 700,000 if the state has to achieve the landmark.

A record number of 1,225,541 doses of Covid vaccines were administered to residents in Maharashtra on Saturday. (HT Photo)

Currently, Maharashtra has 17,261,027 fully-vaccinated people- the highest among all states in the country. The state has administered a total of 62,940,932 doses, including over 2.8 crore residents who have received at least the first dose of a Covid vaccine, officials said.

Dr Pradeep Vyas, additional chief secretary of Maharashtra public health department, said their target for September was based on assurance of adequate supply. “We expect to administer more than 20 million doses of Covid vaccines in September. We have been assured of adequate supply by the Central government, and if the vaccine production increases, the numbers may go up even further. Private hospitals have also contributed significantly to the vaccination drive,” said Dr Vyas.

Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray described vaccines as the shield against Covid-19 virus. “We need to stop the third wave or at least postpone it. Citizens should fully support the vaccination drive. Doctors need to educate citizens that they should take both the doses. There can be cases where people take both the doses and still get Covid-19. However, the severity of the virus will be less,” he added.

Maharashtra on Sunday recorded 4,057 new Covid-19 cases and 67 related deaths. Mumbai’s tally of new cases was 495 and the city also reported two Covid deaths, pushing its toll to 15,993. The total number of Covid-19 patients registered so far in the state has now reached 6,486,174.

On Sunday, 193,193 Covid tests were done and the number of recoveries from the viral infection clocked 5,916. The total number of active Covid-19 patients in Maharashtra stood at 50,095. Pune has the most number of active cases at 12,325, followed by Thane with 7,273 and Satara with 6,603. The state-wide Covid death toll has reached 137,774 and most of these deaths have been registered in Pune (19,303), followed by 15,993 in Mumbai and 11,324 deaths in Thane.

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