Centre-state war of words over vaccine!

Union Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan on Wednesday blamed the Maharashtra government for bogging down the countryrsquos fight against COVID19 The comments came after state Health Minister Rajesh Tope said that Maharashtra is left with just three days worth of doses and the Centre is not sending moreldquoWe have only 14 lakh doses available We need 40 lakh doses every week to administer six lakh doses daily We arenrsquot getting enoughrdquo Tope said adding that the government is forced to shut vaccination centres due to shortage Maharashtra has demanded vaccines for everyone above 25 years of age and sought 15 crore doses for the six most affected districtsIn his retort Vardhan said Maharashtra not only has the highest number of cases and deaths but also one of the highest Test Positivity Rates in the worldAfter complaints from Maharashtra and some other nonBJP ruled states the Centre allowed administering of shots at workplaces with about 100 eligible beneficiaries from April 11 and asserted that there was no vaccine shortage On Wednesday evening news agency ANI quoting government sources gave the following numbers mdash supply of COVID19 vaccines to Maharashtra total supplied10619190 inpipeline743280 consumption9053523ldquoI have seen statements by public representatives in Maharashtra about the shortage of vaccines This is nothing but an attempt to divert attention from the governmentrsquos failures to control the pandemic Vaccine supplies are being monitored on a realtime basis and state governments are being apprised regularlyAllegations of vaccine shortage are utterly baselessrdquo Vardhan said in a statement earlier in the dayldquoI have been a witness to the misgovernance and utter casual approach of the Maharashtra government in battling the virus The lackadaisical attitude of the state government has singularly bogged down the entire countryrsquos efforts to fight the virusrdquo he saidldquoDoesnrsquot it seem evident that these states are trying to divert attention from their poor vaccination efforts by continuously shifting the goalpostsrdquo said Vardhan in a statementldquoI have seen irresponsible statements from some state government functionaries in the context of the pandemic As these statements have the potential to mislead the public and spread panic it has become necessary to put the record straightrdquo he addedlsquoPoorrsquo vaccination numbersHe said the most concerning statements are by a section of political leaders asking to open up vaccinations for everyone above the age of 18 years or to drastically lower the minimum ageVardhan said that the Centre has updated the state on the demandsupply dynamics and the resultant vaccination strategy He said so long as the supply of vaccines remains limited there is no option but to prioritiseldquoWhen states ask to open up vaccine supplies to everyone over 18 we must presume that they have done saturation coverage of healthcare workers frontline workers and senior citizens But the facts are altogether differentrdquo he said and targeted the lsquopoorrsquo vaccination of healthcare workersAccording to Vardhan Maharashtra has given the first dose to 86 per cent health workers Ten states and union territories have crossed 90 per cent For second dose the rate in Maharashtra is 41 per cent healthcare workers and 12 states and union territories have crossed 60 per cent Among frontline workers Maharashtrarsquos first dose rate is 73 per cent while five states and union territories have crossed 85 per cent Similarly the rate of second dose for frontline workers in the state is 41 per cent while six states and union territories have crossed 45 per centMaharashtra has vaccinated 25 per cent senior citizens while four states and union territories have crossed 50 per cent