Assam health department had placed an urgent demand for 1.6 lakh doses of COVID-19 doses before the Centre amid a threat of another spike in cases. The health department sought vaccine doses after requisitions for more vaccines started pouring in from districts.
According to sources, the state has a stock of only 2.58 lakh Covaxin doses at present, which include booster shots.
"If the vaccination centres see a heavy rush, which seems imminent if Covid cases start spiralling in the country and state, the state health department will be in a fix. Almost after a gap of two months, today we have placed a request before the Union health ministry seeking more stocks of Covid vaccines," the source told while quoted by TOI, adding that a demand for one lakh Covishield and 60,000 Corbevax doses has been raised.
As Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya chaired a video conference with the state health ministers, Assam health minister Keshab Mahanta's first and foremost demand was the request to supply an adequate number of Covid-19 vaccines for the administration of the precaution dose as soon as possible.
Nevertheless, Mahanta informed the meeting that Assam is alert and fully prepared to tackle any eventuality. "Assam has all the required logistical support, consumables, beds, oxygen status, ICU and other necessary items to deal with any emergency situation," he said.
Mandaviya urged all the states to step up testing, increase community vigilance, increase the administration of precaution doses and to follow Covid-appropriate behaviour at all times.
Meanwhile, Mahanta had reviewed the Covid-19 preparedness with senior health officials a day earlier. But except for the decision to adhere to the Centre's instructions to go for genome sequencing of positive case samples to track the Covid variants through INSACOG labs, health officials said no other concrete decision was taken.
"As of now, we will follow the Centre's instructions carefully. Hope that will be enough to resist the virus," Assam director of medical education Anup Kumar Barman said. Assam has no active Covid cases as on Thursday.
