Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik wrote to Prime Minister on Saturday asking for Covid-19 vaccines to be made available in the open market, and demanding more vaccine doses for the state. “Vaccines may be made available outside the government supply chain in the open market so that willing citizens who can afford the vaccine can avail them. This will help governments have a focused approach towards vulnerable sections of society,” Patnaik wrote, adding that those vaccines which have been approved by international agencies and governments be accorded approval to increase supply. “We have one of the lowest rates of wastage in the country. We have the capacity to administer more than three lakh doses every day. We are getting a huge response from people,” Patnaik wrote. He said the intermittent supply of vaccines was creating a challenge in meeting the demand. “It is in this backdrop that I had requested for 25 lakh vaccine doses to help us administer three lakh doses every day. Even at full capacity it will take us 160 days to fully vaccinate the eligible population of our State (above 45 years),” Patnaik wrote. Emphasising the country’s vaccine manufacturing potential, Patnaik also suggested that the Centre and states extend their support to ramp up vaccine production. “The metropolitan cities which contribute the highest COVID cases should be allowed priority vaccination and flexibility in age criteria as these are economic nerve centres of the country.”
