Facing vaccine shortage; no indication of flattening of curve: Maharashtra

Maharashtra is facing a shortage of Covaxin and Covishield, said state health minister Rajesh Tope on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Tope said, "Vaccination drive for teenagers and precaution doses are being given to senior citizens, frontline and healthcare workers. Due to this, we are facing the shortage of Covaxin and Covishield. We have demanded additional 50 lakh Covishield doses and 40 lakh Covaxin doses from the Central government."

He further said that it is not true that there is a decline in COVID-19 cases. "In the past two-three days, the reporting of COVID-19 cases might have come down. It may be because of the low testing. On Wednesday, the state has reported around 46,000 new COVID-19 cases. So, there is no indication of flattening of the curve in Maharashtra."

The positivity rate in Maharashtra stands at 21.4 per cent, while in Mumbai it is 27 per cent. "There is no need to press the panic button. Though there is a rise in cases, the rate of hospitalisation stands at 2.8 per cent. Out of the 2.25 lakh cases, around 2 lakh people are under home isolation, which accounts to 86 per cent of the total cases, while 2.8 per cent cases are admitted to hospitals showing serious symptoms who are in ICU or in need of oxygen cylinders or ventilators.