"5 Days Supply Left": Punjab Joins Maharashtra In Row Over Vaccine Stocks

Earlier today Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot issued a similar warning; Mr Gehlot wrote to the Prime Minister, asking for 30 lakh doses to continue vaccination

Punjab has only five days of coronavirus vaccines - three if the state reaches its target of two lakh shots per day - Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said Saturday, becoming the latest state government leader to red-flag the issue of fast depleting stocks amid a deadly wave of new cases. The Chief Minister, who is in a video meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other party leaders, urged the centre to release the next batch based on confirmed orders for the next quarter. "Punjab has only five days of supply (5.7 lakh vaccine doses) left at the current levels of vaccination - between 85,000 and 90,000 people per day. Hoping the centre will send fresh batches of vaccine supply soon. If the state is able to meet its current target - around two lakh shots per day - then existing supplies last only three days," Mr Singh said in a statement issued this morning. He also said he had written to both Prime Minister Modi and Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan - who has slammed the "hue and cry (about vaccine distribution) by certain states" - to rush more stocks.