Vaccination to be halted in Tamil Nadu as stocks empty, new stock by June 6, says minister

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New Delhi: Vaccination against COVID-19 will be halted in Tamil Nadu from Tuesday evening onwards, as the current stocks are projected to be exhausted, said Health Minister M Subramanian. He said that Tamil Nadu had so far administered over 89lakh doses, and projected that this figure would go up to 92 lakhs by end of day. 

According to the minister, vaccination across the state is expected to resume on Sunday (June 6), when the central government provides the next consignment of doses in a phased manner. 

Speaking at the Government Hospital in Chengalpet, the minister said that Tamil Nadu had received about 96.18 lakh vaccines, of which 92 lakh were administered and the rest of them were wasted. He claimed that there was a delay from the central government in sending 1.75 lakh doses, that were due by May-end. 

Subramanian emphasized that DMK representatives in Delhi had met central ministers and officials in Delhi to seek adequate vaccines for the state. He expressed confidence that about 42 lakh vaccines would arrive in Tamil Nadu in a phased manner in this month. Those vaccines would be dispatched to the districts based on the population and other requirements, he added.

The minister said that he was requesting State BJP President L Murugan and BJP Coimbatore South MLA Vanathi Srinivasan to provide support and urge the central government to provide adequate vaccines for Tamil Nadu.

The DMK government had earlier floated a global tender to procure vaccines for Tamil Nadu, which is yet to yield any results. DMK leaders and Chief Minister Stalin had written to the Prime Minister to permit the state government to take on lease the unused Integrated Vaccine Complex, at Chengalpet near Chennai. The plant which was established by the central government in 2021 has been lying idle ever since. Stalin wanted the factory to be handed over to the State Government on lease, without any past liabilities and full operational freedom. However, questions loom over which Covid-19 vaccine would be manufactured here. 

On the issue of people queuing up for vaccines in Tamil Nadu despite the looming shortage, he said that it was heartening to see people eagerly waiting to take the shot, rather than hesitating to take the shot. 

Tamil Nadu continues to witness the highest daily number of COVID-19 cases of all states in India. The daily case numbers are nearly 28,000 and active cases are a little over 3 lakh. Over the last few days, the persons discharged following treatment has surpassed the daily cases. However, the worry remains the fatality numbers which have been hovering over 450 for more than a week. So far, 24,232 people have lost their lives to the pandemic in Tamil Nadu, with most lives lost being in the month of May.