CM Gehlot says Rajasthan facing vaccine shortage, stock left for 2 days

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said there was a shortage of COVID-19 vaccines in the state and the current stock would last for two days, reported ANI. Rajasthan, thus, is another state that has spoken about vaccine shortage, after Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

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Gehlot has requested for at least 30 lakh doses of vaccine to be provided immediately.

Writing further on the issue, the CM said there was no politics involved in vaccines but facts made it clear that there was a shortage of vaccines in many states. He has urged the Centre to make the situation on vaccine doses public. 

Despite the complaints by several states about vaccine shortage, the Centre has denied the claim that India is facing “vaccine starvation” and that “shortage in Congress-ruled states is not of vaccines but of basic commitment.”

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad made the statement after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he alleged “vaccine starvation” in the nation. He also demanded an immediate halt n COVID-19 vaccine exports and opening up of the vaccination to “everyone who needs it”. 

“Rahul Gandhi must know that shortage in Congress-ruled states is not of vaccines but of basic commitment towards healthcare,” Prasad said in a tweet.

India is not facing vaccine starvation but Gandhi is facing “attention starvation”, the minister added.

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In his letter to the PM, Gandhi sought greater say for state governments in vaccine procurement and distribution. He also sought fast-tracking of approval of other vaccines according to norms and guidelines.