Captain Amarinder Singh led the Punjab government onThursday decided to join the COVAX facility alliance for global sourcing andprocurement of Covid vaccines at the best price, becoming the first state inthe country to take such a well thought out strategic initiative towardsaddressing the problem of vaccine shortage amid the deadly second wave of thepandemic.
The decision was taken during the cabinet meeting, whichalso approved the purchase of Covaxin for industrial workers, for whosevaccination the industry has expressed willingness to pay. The state governmenthas so far ordered only Covishield vaccine for the 18-44 age group, but withthis decision, decks have been cleared to place orders for Covaxin too.
Reviewing the vaccination status and availability in thestate, the cabinet said it was necessary to source vaccines globally. Since theCOVAX facility offers the best prices, the state should make an attempt to jointhe same for procuring vaccines from the international markets, it decided. Thesuggestion for joining the COVAX was given to the cabinet by Dr Gagandeep Kang,who heads the Punjab Expert Group on Vaccination.
COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access, abbreviated as COVAX, isa worldwide initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines directedby Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the Coalition for Epidemic PreparednessInnovations, and the World Health Organization.
In a brief presentation, Health Secretary Hussan Lalinformed the cabinet that of the 30 lakh Covishield doses ordered by the stategovernment, the Serum Institute of India had so far confirmed 4.29 lakh, ofwhich 1 lakh doses had been received. He further disclosed that some centralgovernment institutions and industrial establishments were requesting for earlyvaccination of their workforce. Given the shortage of vaccines, he pointed outthat certain states were floating global tenders to import the same.
The Health Secretary further apprised the cabinet thatfor the 45+ age group, the last tranche of Covishield vaccine (1,63,710 doses)was received on May 9, taking the total to 42,48, 560. As many as 3,45,000doses were given to the armed forces, while the total vaccination utilizationstood at 39,03,560.
For Covaxin in the 45+ category, the last tranche ofvaccine received was of 75,000 doses (6 May 2021), taking the total received to4,09,080, of which utilization till date was 3,52,080, leaving availability ofonly 57,000 now.