At a time when several states are complaining of shortages in Covid vaccine supply, about 500 vaccine centres in Delhi have closed down due to a lack of vaccines.

Commenting on this worrisome situation, the Delhi health minister Satyendar Jain said the Aam Aadmi Party government has the capacity to vaccinate but there aren’t enough vaccines with them.

Jain said, “The Delhi government cannot follow Haryana’s vaccination policy of saving as many vaccines as possible. Instead, we are immediately using whichever vaccines are made available to us by the Central government.”

The comment by the minister comes in the backdrop of apprehensions concerning a third pandemic wave that may hit the country soon.

“At present, we have to assume that the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic may visit upon us. Therefore, I appeal to the people of Delhi to step out of their houses wearing a mask and maintaining social distancing norms,” he added.

The Minister on Monday said only 45 Covid-19 cases were reported in the national capital, which is the lowest in the last year-and-a-half. The infection rate in Delhi is less than 0.1 per cent. There are 693 active cases of Covid-19 in Delhi.

Sharing statistics related to the vaccination drive in Delhi, the AAP leader said  “On Monday, nearly 1.5 lakh Covishield vaccines arrived in the national capital and now we have nearly 1.68 lakh vaccines, which will be sufficient till Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon. After this, there will be a shortage of vaccines in Delhi again.”

“Due to lack of availability of vaccines, nearly 500 vaccination centres have been closed in Delhi, but as soon as the vaccines are available we will open all vaccination centres again. We (Delhi government) have already said that we have the capacity to vaccinate all people for which we require three to four lakh vaccines daily,” Satyendar Jain added.

Asked to vaccinate the whole of Delhi within three months, Satyendar Jain said, “If we receive the Covid-19 vaccines we are ready to carry out a large number of jabs. Due to the lack of vaccines, we have to close our vaccination centres repeatedly. We cannot follow Haryana’s vaccination policy to save as many vaccines as possible. Whatever vaccines we are receiving from the Central government, we are using them immediately.”

Jain said, “It is very important for everyone to receive the vaccine jabs to save themselves from Covid-19. That is why we have made all preparations to vaccinate every individual. As soon as we receive the vaccines, we will get people inoculated as soon as possible.”

Regarding the possible third wave of Covid-19 infection, Satyendar Jain said, “As long as the coronavirus is active, it can spread. Therefore, the only way to prevent Covid-19 is that every person must wear a face mask. If you step out of home and meet other people, one must wear a mask.”

He added, “Even when Covid-19 was at its peak, there was nearly 25 per cent of patients from outside the national capital undergoing treatment in Delhi hospitals. Each person was provided free treatment at Delhi government hospitals. Even today, 10 to 15 patients are admitted to Delhi government hospitals every day, of which 25 to 30 per cent of patients reside outside Delhi. We haven’t denied treatment to any person.”

…With IANS input